House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Local Broadcasting

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2023 to Question 160219 on Local Broadcasting: Parliamentary Estate, what the expected timescale is for access to BBC regional channels to be restored to televisions on the Parliamentary estate television network.

Sir Charles Walker: The House of Commons Commission has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office

Office for Veterans' Affairs: Ethnic Groups and LGBT+ People

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the number of (a) BAME and (b) LGBT+ staff working in the Office for Veterans' Affairs.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2023 to Question 184899 on Office for Veterans' Affairs: Civil Servants, how many civil servants work in the Office for Veterans' Affairs as of 22 June 2023; and at what grades.

Johnny Mercer: As of 22 June 2023 there were 23 Full Time Employees (FTE) in the Office of Veterans’ Affairs (OVA). In order to increase support to veterans, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the OVA over the next three years. It is optional for employees to disclose their ethnicity and sexual orientation and disclosing this data could breach the confidentiality of the individuals working in the OVA due to the size of the unit.

Cabinet Office: Staff

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2023 to Question 185881 on Cabinet Office: Staff, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of employing two Digital Media Officers in financial year 2023-24.

Alex Burghart: The two digital media officers are full time civil servants and are currently employed at HEO grade. Please see below for the salary bands for HEOs within the Cabinet Office. London - £35,241 - £39,352National - £32,640 - £36,510

Transgender People: Civil Servants

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have been appointed as Transgender Champions in (a) his Department and (b) each other Department.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office is not aware of any standalone Transgender champion roles. The role is often incorporated into the LGBT champion role which is a role appointed in addition to the individual's existing portfolio. We are currently aware that there are 31 LGBT champions across the 44 ministerial and non-ministerial departments. Of these 31 LGBT champions, the Cabinet Office as a department has one LGBT champion.

International Labour Organisation

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times (a) Ministers and (b) officials held meetings with the International Labour Organisation each year since 2019; what the reasons for each of those meetings were; and who was present at each meeting.

Alex Burghart: Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

Department for Education

Apprentices: Taxation

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the proportion of the Apprenticeship Levy that has been spent on people studying at (a) Level 3 and (b) level 4 and above in each of the last 5 years.

Robert Halfon: The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. Employers have developed over 670 apprenticeship standards, including 220 at level 3 and 315 at levels 4 and above, to build the skilled workforces they need.There have been over 5.4 million apprenticeship starts in England since 2010.The apprenticeships budget in England is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy paying employers, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers. The department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year, and it is encouraging to see that in the 2021/22 financial year, 99.6% of the budget was spent.The table below shows the total apprenticeships participation spend in England at level 3 and above from the 2017/18 academic year. This is the total spend for apprenticeships by both levy-paying and non-levy paying employers and includes apprenticeships started in previous years.Apprenticeships participation spend (£ million)Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Level 6Level 72017/18622746685533112018/1955783812010078572019/204738851631321331182020/213788481921562031862021/22421953222160290216

Further Education: Finance

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the real-terms change to funding for Further Education Colleges has been in each year since 2010.

Robert Halfon: The department does not hold this information, as it does not record or calculate the real terms changes to funding as requested.There will be an extra £1.6 billion in 16-19 education by the 2024/25 financial year compared with 2021/22.We are making a capital investment in skills over this Spending Review period of over £2.8 billion, to improve the condition of post-16 estate, provide new places in post-16 education, provide specialist equipment and facilities for T Levels, and deliver the commitment to 21 Institutes of Technology across England. This investment will ensure that colleges are able to deliver the skills that local areas need, including in key sectors like biosciences and green energy.

Department for Education: Written Questions

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question 189908 on Schools: Water, tabled by the hon. Member for Twickenham on 15 June 2023.

Nick Gibb: I can confirm that a response to Question 189908 has been provided to the hon. Member for Twickenham.

Teachers: Cornwall

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the number of schools introducing (a) recruitment and (b) retention payments to encourage new teachers to work and existing teachers to stay at schools in Cornwall; and if she will make it her policy to reflect the potential need for such payments in area cost adjustments to the national funding formula.

Nick Gibb: There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, which is an increase of 2,800 (less than 1%) since last year, and an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010.The Department wants to ensure there are excellent teachers where they are most needed. The Department knows there is further to go to improve recruitment in some subjects.​In October 2022, the Department announced an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) financial incentives package worth up to £181 million for those starting ITT in 2023/24, which is a £52 million increase on 2022/23. The package includes bursaries worth £27,000 tax free and scholarships worth £29,000 tax free, to encourage talented trainees to teach in key subjects, such as physics, chemistry, and computing. More information on the financial incentives package can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-initial-teacher-training-itt/funding-initial-teacher-training-itt-academic-year-2023-to-2024.​The Department is offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax free annually for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas (EIA). As Cornwall is an EIA, eligible teachers in Cornwall receive the maximum payments available. More information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/levelling-up-premium-payments-for-teachers.These recruitment and retention incentives are funded centrally and paid directly by the Department to eligible teachers. As such, they are separate from the National Funding Formula.

School Rebuilding Programme

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of school rebuilding programme projects that have experienced construction delays of more than one month in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Department is transforming buildings at 500 schools over the next decade as part of its School Rebuilding Programme. The construction programmes of building projects in all Department programmes is monitored by the Department through programme management and project delivery teams.In the four school rebuilding projects which have been completed, three were delayed more than a month against initial forecasts. These initial programme forecasts were made ahead of the impact of significant events that could not have been reasonably predicted and that affected the global market.The Department has continuously improved its approach to building schools since the Sebastian James’ review. This identified that the Building Schools for the Future programme, introduced under the last Government in 2004, was overly bureaucratic and not designed to target poor condition, did not support high and consistent quality, did not use standardised specifications that work for education, and did not deliver value for money and economies of scale from central procurement and delivery, which are all things that are now prioritised when building schools.Under the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) this Government launched in 2014, whole schools were built at one third of the cost per square metre on average than schools built under the Building Schools for the Future Programme. The Department has further built on this success in its School Rebuilding Programme, which is exceeding delivery timescales compared to PSBP, while delivering schools that will be net zero in operation. The Infrastructure and Project Authority has highlighted that our progress is very good.

Education: Birmingham

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of overcrowding in social housing in Birmingham on (a) primary and (b) secondary school children's education outcomes in that area.

Nick Gibb: The Department has evaluated the national impact of poverty on educational outcomes.​ Evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation, Star Assessments and Renaissance Learning shows that disadvantaged pupils have fallen further behind non disadvantaged pupils compared with pre COVID-19 pandemic levels, at Key Stages 1, 2 and 4. This is indicated by a rise in the disadvantage gap index between 2019 and 2022 at KS2 and KS4. That is why the Department has increased its range of support for pupils, families, and schools.In 2022/23, the Department will be allocating approximately £2,000 per pupil for all pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, which will be delivered through the National Funding Formula, the Pupil Premium, and the 2022/23 School Supplementary Grant together. The Pupil Premium, of which £107.5 million will be allocated to Birmingham schools in 2023/24, enables schools to provide extra support for disadvantaged pupils to help improve their academic and personal achievements. Of the 82,408 eligible pupils in Birmingham, £1,455 per pupil will go to each primary school, £1,035 per pupil to each secondary school, and schools will also receive £ 2,530 per looked after and previously looked after child.Support also includes the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), where funding has been allocated to schools based on rates of disadvantage. Since the launch of the NTP in November 2020, around 2.85 million tutoring courses have been started, as at 6 October 2022. The six million courses the Department committed to creating in the Schools White Paper will be delivered by 2024. The Department has made available almost £5 billion for education recovery, including multi year direct investment, so that schools can deliver evidence based interventions, based on pupil’s needs. Collectively, these programmes are making a difference to pupils and schools. Recent data from the Education Policy Institute and Rising Stars/Hodder Education shows that for primary age pupils, most year groups have either caught up in English and mathematics or are now on average 4 to6 weeks behind pre COVID-19 pandemic levels, a significant increase from previous studies which suggested pupils were 2.5 to 3 months behind.In addition, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities leads an interministerial group for Levelling Up to facilitate cross Government work on the Levelling Up agenda. This group includes Ministers from all Departments leading on missions, including an ambition to reduce the number of poor quality rented homes by one half and for 90% of pupils to achieve the expected level at Key Stage 2. The group provides an opportunity for support, challenge, and accountability on the progression of these missions.

Apprentices: Taxation

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Apprenticeship Levy for skills development.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to reform the apprenticeship levy.

Robert Halfon: The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. The government does not currently have any plans to review the apprenticeship levy.The department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25 and have a range of work underway to support employers to use our high-quality apprenticeships to the build skilled workforces they need.There are over 670 employer-designed apprenticeship standards currently available across all levels and sectors and we are encouraging flexible training models, like flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, so that employers can train their apprentices in the way that works best for them. We have also improved the levy transfer system to support levy paying employers to make fuller use of their levy funds.We have removed the limit to the number of apprentices that small and medium-sized enterprises can take on and we continue to pay 95% of their apprenticeship training costs and 100% for the smallest employers when they take on younger apprentices, including those aged 16-to-18.The department also wants to further accelerate the growth of higher and degree apprenticeships and encourage higher education providers to expand their existing offers or develop new ones. We are providing an additional £40 million over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and help more people access this provision, on top of our £8 million investment in 2022/23.

Video Games: Apprentices

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of apprenticeships that are available for training in the video games sector as of 19 June 2023.

Robert Halfon: The government is committed to supporting employers in all sectors, including those in the video games industry, to use our high-quality apprenticeships to build the skilled workforces they need now and in the future.Employers in the video games industry have developed a number of apprenticeship standards, including Level 4 Digital Community Manager, Level 4 Junior Animator, and Level 7 Game Programmer.The department is increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year to support more employers and learners to benefit from apprenticeships such as these.The department continues to support the digital sector more broadly and we are promoting flexible training models, such as flexi-job apprenticeships, to make it easier for sectors where short-term, project-based employment is the norm to benefit from apprenticeships. The department is also supporting the Digital Skills Council, led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which brings together government and industry led action to address the current and future demand for digital skills.

Turing Scheme

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students (a) applied for and (b) received a place under the Turing Scheme in each academic year since 2021-2022.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students (a) applied for and (b) received a place under the Erasmus Scheme in the academic years (i) 2015-2016, (ii) 2017-2018, (iii) 2018-2019, (iv) 2019-2020 and (v) 2020-2021.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) shortest, (b) longest and (c) average time for (i) processing applications and (ii) confirming funding under the Turing scheme was in each academic year from 2021 to date.

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria is used to assess which countries are (a) high and (b) low cost under the Turing scheme for the purpose of funding determinations.

Robert Halfon: The UK government is supporting access to study abroad through the Turing Scheme. ​​The scheme provides grant funding for education providers and organisations to offer their students, learners and pupils undertake study or work placement across the globe. Participants can study or work anywhere in the world, subject to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office travel advice.Education providers and other eligible organisations are able to apply to the Turing Scheme. Organisations that have been awarded funds are responsible for planning projects that will see their students undertake international placements funded through the Turing Scheme. Students do not apply directly to the Turing Scheme. This is the same institution-led model used for international placement schemes like the Erasmus+ Programme.The Turing Scheme allocated funding for international study and work placements for 41,024 students, learners, and pupils in the 2021/22 academic year and 38,374 in the 2022/23 academic year. Funding results by sector are published on the Turing Scheme website: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/. Application outcomes for the 2023/24 academic year will be announced in July 2023.Whilst the Turing Scheme focuses on study and work placements for students, the Erasmus+ Programme also included some staff mobility, and youth and adult educational mobilities. However, the European Commission does not break down the total number of UK participants in any other sector than Higher Education (HE) between staff and students. The department is therefore unable to provide all the information requested. HE student participant numbers in Erasmus+ from the UK were 15,784 in the 2015/16 academic year, 16,559 in 2016/17, 17,048 in 2017/18, 18,305 in 2018/19 and 16,596 in 2019/20. The Turing Scheme is providing funding for 23,472 HE placements in the 2022/23 academic year and provided funding for over 28,000 HE placements in 2021/22.The Turing Scheme has an annual application window in which eligible organisations can apply for funding:For 2021/22 placements, the application window opened on 12 March 2021 and closed on 16 April 2021. Applicants were notified of the outcome of their application and funding amounts by 4 August 2021. There were no appeals. The period between the closing of the application window to the notification of results was 15 weeks and 5 days, during which time the applications were assessed.For 2022/23 placements, the application window opened on 31 March 2022 and closed on 29 April 2022. Applicants were notified of the outcome of their application by 30 June 2022 and of their funding amounts by 17 July 2022. Successful appellants were notified of their funding amounts by 16 Aug 2022. The period between the closing of the application window to the notification of initial application results was 8 weeks and 6 days, during which time the applications were assessed. Notification of funding amounts were issued 2 weeks and 3 days later. The duration of the appeals process was 15 weeks and 4 days from the initial notification to the notification of the final outcomes of the appeal.For 2023/24 placements, the application window opened on 14 February 2023 and closed on 6 April 2023. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications and funding amounts in July 2023. Appeal outcomes will be confirmed to appellants in August 2023.Under the Turing Scheme, participants receive grants to help cover the general costs of living while they are abroad. The amount of funding provided towards the cost of living for each participant will vary depending on the sector and destination country/territory. Destination countries/territories are grouped into three categories: Group 1 (high cost of living), Group 2 (medium cost of living) and Group 3 (lower cost of living). These categories were determined with reference to the World Bank’s International Comparison Program which compares countries’ Price Level Indexes, the country groupings used by the European Commission for the Erasmus+ Programme, and data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Electricians: Training

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help increase the supply of trained electrical workers in the UK.

Robert Halfon: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The government’s skills reforms in England provide a ladder of opportunity that enables young people and adults to get good jobs and progress in their careers. We are building a skills system that is employer focused, high quality and fit for the future. It is also flexible enough to lead to more people completing high-quality courses that meet employers’ needs.£3.8 billion has been invested in the skills agenda over this parliament .We are using this to expand and strengthen higher and further education, ensuring skills training is aligned to the needs of employers to enable communities to thrive. With this investment, we are putting employers at the heart of our skills system. This is why we are working with industry to shape our training offers, creating more routes into skilled employment in key economic sectors including electrical.Our high-quality apprenticeships are supporting people of all ages with the opportunity to earn and learn the skills needed to start, or progress in, an exciting career in the construction sector. Employers in the electrical sector can access a range of high-quality apprenticeship standards to meet their skills needs, such as the Level 3 Domestic Electrician standard and the Level 6 Electronic Technical Support Engineer standard.T Levels are strengthening vocational options for young people finishing their GCSEs. These two-year, technical qualifications are designed with relevant employers and are equivalent in size to three A levels. T Levels in Construction and Engineering & Manufacturing can lead to careers in the electrical engineering sector.The Free Courses for Jobs offer, which was launched in April 2021, allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A level equivalent) for free. Qualifications are available that support electrical workers.Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview with an employer on completion. Skills Bootcamps are available in a variety of skill areas including technical and engineering with courses on offer in electrification, electrical wind turbine technician and electric/hybrid vehicle maintenance and repair. These can help support a career in the electrical engineering industry.High-quality careers information, advice and guidance is key to helping people to make informed decisions about their future, including being able to find out about and consider the different options available to them, including those in construction. The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is supporting schools and colleges to embed best practice in the delivery of careers information, advice and guidance. This allows young people to be aware of the full range of training and careers available to them and to have access to a broad range of employers and workplaces, including those in the construction sectors. This will be delivered through the national roll-out of Career Hubs, Career Leader training, and the Enterprise Adviser Network.The National Careers Service website gives people access to a range of useful digital tools and resources to support them, including ‘Explore Careers’ which includes more than 130 industry areas and more than 800 job profiles. This includes a range of key sector careers available, a description of what those roles entail, qualifications and entry routes. The content team regularly researches and updates content and welcomes updates from industry to ensure content is accurate and up to date.

School Teachers' Review Body

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish the School Teachers' Review Body Report 2023.

Nick Gibb: As part of the normal pay round process, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its report and recommendations to the Government on teacher pay for 2023/24. The Department is considering the recommendations and will publish the response and the report in the usual way, in due course.

Nurses: Training

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made how many student nurses will be unable to access the expanded free hours offer in 2024/25.

Claire Coutinho: The department does not hold the data on how many student nurses will be unable to access the expanded free hours offer in 2024/25.In the Spring Budget 2023, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.The announcement included the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer, through which eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school. The key objective of this measure is to support parental participation in the labour market, which is why the offer is conditional on work.All students who work in addition to their studies and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum/Living Wage, and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, will be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education which is available to all three and four-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.The government is not currently planning to extend the income criteria for 30 hours free childcare. We recognise the value of parents continuing in education and provide a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare.Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income.For additional financial support, since September 2020, all eligible full-time nursing, midwifery, paramedic, and other allied health profession students have been able to receive a non-repayable training grant through the NHS Learning Support Fund of £5,000 per academic year. Eligible full-time students with child dependants can also access a further £2,000 per academic year through the Learning and Support Fund. Eligible students studying part-time receive a pro-rated amount of support depending on their intensity of study compared to a full-time course.Further information on the childcare offers available to parents is available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

Special Educational Needs: Qualifications

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to introduce a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) national professional qualification (NPQ); and whether the new qualification will affect the planned revision of the SEND Code of Practice.

Claire Coutinho: In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, the department announced the introduction of a new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) as the mandatory qualification, replacing the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination.All arrangements around delivery, providers, start dates, and funding regarding the NPQ for SENCOs will be communicated in due course.The SEND Regulations 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice will be updated to reflect the change to the mandatory qualification.

Alternative Education: Cornwall

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of alternative provision placements in Cornwall; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the number of placements available on schools’ budgets.

Claire Coutinho: The department recognises that the quality of Alternative Provision placements in Cornwall is variable, and is also aware of the pressures that the reduced number of places has on schools. The department is engaging closely with the local authority and trusts in the local area to increase standards through supporting and challenging specialist trusts to ensure they are consistently delivering high quality provision, and encouraging strong mainstream trusts to consider working in the specialist sector in order to diversify provision in the area over time.

Educational Visits: Low Incomes

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to enable pupils from low-income households to participate in school trips.

Nick Gibb: A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip.Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary.If a trip requires a night away from home, parents can be charged for board and lodging. Parents who receive certain benefits cannot be charged, and schools should be clear on this in their communications.The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.The Government has provided over £2.6 billion of Pupil Premium funding in the 2022/23 financial year to support pupils from lower income families. Rates will increase by 5% for 2023/24, taking total pupil premium funding to £2.9 billion. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use both Pupil Premium and Recovery Premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips.

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to respond to the report by the Committee on the Rights of the Child entitled Concluding observations on the combined sixth and seventh reports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 2 June 2023.

Claire Coutinho: Following the constructive dialogue in Geneva, the UN Committee published their Concluding Observations on 2 June 2023. These are available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/un-child-rights-committee-publishes-findings-finland-france-jordan-sao-tome. The department strives to find new ways to promote children’s rights and recognises that strengthening children’s rights is a continuous process. The government welcomes the constructive challenge that was made by the Committee in Geneva and will take into consideration the Concluding Observations, including considering a Children’s Rights Action Plan. We will confirm our next steps in due course.

Special Educational Needs: Cornwall

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of amounts of top-up funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities in Cornwall.

Claire Coutinho: Local authorities are statutorily responsible for securing the special educational provision specified in a child or young person’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.It is for local authorities to assess the adequacy of amounts of top-up funding for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, in line with their statutory duties to secure the provision specified in the EHC plan.

Students: Ukraine

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2022 to Question 304 on Refugees: Ukraine, how many people who were granted leave under the (a) Ukraine Sponsorship scheme, (b) Ukraine Family scheme and (c) Ukraine Extension scheme have received (i) a student loan and (ii) home fee status; and what the cost has been to the public purse.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2022 to Question 304 on Refugees: Ukraine, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of whether people who were granted leave under the (a) Ukraine Sponsorship scheme, (b) Ukraine Family scheme and (c) Ukraine Extension scheme are likely to repay their student loans.

Robert Halfon: Student Finance England have paid 617 persons granted leave under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme student support for the 2022/23 academic year up to 18 June 2023. It is not possible to separately identify those on the Ukraine Extension Scheme in the data. The net amount paid out as of 18 June 2023 was £9,155,573, accounting for interest and any repayments received.The granting of home fee status is a matter for universities. It is therefore not possible to provide full information on how many people who have been issued Ukraine scheme leave have received home fee status, although all those who have been granted student finance will be eligible for home fee status. There were no Ukraine Family Scheme applicants identified who have received payments.The department has not made a separate assessment of the likelihood of people who were granted leave under (a) the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, (b) the Ukraine Family Scheme and (c) the Ukraine Extension Scheme repaying their student loans. Borrowers in receipt of student funding under the Ukraine schemes are subject to the same repayment terms and conditions as all other borrowers.

Pupils: Period Poverty

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the letter from Irise International of 26 May 2023 on period poverty.

Claire Coutinho: I can confirm that a response has been sent to the letter dated 26 May 2023 from Irise International.

English Language: Teachers

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to address recruitment and retention in English teaching.

Nick Gibb: There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, which is an increase of 2,800 (less than 1%) since last year, and an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.The Department’s reforms are aimed at increasing teacher recruitment and at ensuring teachers across England stay and succeed in the profession.The Department announced a financial incentives package worth up to £181 million for those starting Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in the 2023/24 academic year. This includes the reintroduction of a £15,000 bursary to train to teach English, which will be available for prospective English teachers starting teacher training this autumn.The Department has also raised starting salaries outside of London by 8.9% to £28,000 and remains committed to the Government’s ambition of delivering £30,000 starting salaries to attract talented people to teaching.The Department has created an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support, and professional development for all new teachers, underpinned by the ITT Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework (ECF). Further information on the ITT Core Content Framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-core-content-framework. Further information on the ECF can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-career-framework. Together, these ensure that new teachers will benefit from at least three years of evidence based training, across ITT and into their induction.To support retention across all subjects, the Department has worked with the education sector and has published a range of resources to help address staff workload and wellbeing and to support schools to introduce flexible working practices. This includes the workload reduction toolkit and the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter. Further information on the workload reduction toolkit can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit. Further information on the Education Staff Wellbeing charter can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. More than 2,600 schools have signed up to the Charter so far.

Children: Swimming

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to educate pupils on the potential danger of open water swimming.

Nick Gibb: Water safety is a vital life skill, which is why swimming and water safety is a compulsory part of the PE and Sport National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2. Pupils should be taught how to perform safe self rescue in a variety of water based situations, including open water.Schools can also use the Personal, Social, Health and Economic curriculum to equip pupils with a sound understanding of risk and with the knowledge necessary to make safe and informed decisions, which is a vital part of water safety.​​The Department is working in partnership with members of the National Water Safety Forum, in particular the Royal Life Saving Society UK, Swim England, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Together with the Department, these organisations are supporting more schools to teach primary and secondary pupils important aspects of water safety, such as cold water shock, rip tides and keeping safe near frozen water.​ New resources for pupils in Key Stages 1 to 3 have been provided by the National Water Safety Forum, supporting teachers to deliver water safety in a classroom environment.

Nurseries and Schools: Buildings

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of (a) nurseries, (b) primary schools, (c) secondary schools, (d) sixth form colleges and (e) all-through schools that have experienced construction delays that have postponed the planned opening date in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Department aims to minimise the time that any free school spends in pre-opening. Officials work closely with schools and trusts to ensure they receive the support they need, as projects progress.If the Department is not confident that a free school will be viable, sustainable, and successful, it will not hesitate to defer or cancel a project at any point during the pre-opening phase.The Department monitors opening dates across all free school projects but does not record whether changes to the original expected year of opening are due to site issues or other concerns around viability and readiness to open.

Schools: Buildings

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has oversight of work on school buildings that is subcontracted by its contractors.

Nick Gibb: Departmental project managers oversee work on school building projects that are procured centrally by the Department. These projects are managed and monitored on a day to day basis by appointed Technical Advisors, who oversee project delivery including the performance of subcontractors. On site, the Technical Advisor’s Clerk of Works performs site based assurance over construction works, with oversight of work that is undertaken by sub-contractors.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pensioners: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of inflation on pensioners in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.

Laura Trott: The Households Below Average Income sample size is too small to provide robust estimates of the rates of pensioner poverty in the areas identified. National and regional statistics on the number and percentage of pensioners in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2022 The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their rising bills. From April 2023, benefits and the State Pension, including the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee, were increased by 10.1%, in line with prices in the year to September 2022. Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, including the 1.4 million pensioners currently in receipt of Pension Credit, will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, over 8 million pensioner households will receive a £300 pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top up to their winter fuel payment increasing payments to £500 for those aged 66-79 and £600 for those aged 80 and over. Specific statistics relating to the pensioner Cost of Living Payments are not available. However, the latest available winter fuel payment statistics (2021/22) show that 14,352 customers in Coventry North East and 46,614 customers in Coventry received a winter fuel payment. We expect a similar number of customers will receive the pensioner Cost of Living Payments in 2022/23 and 2023/24. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and the State Pension. The outcome of that review will be announced later this year following the publication of the relevant indices by the Office for National Statistics, and the new rates will enter into force from April 2024.

Universal Credit: Childcare

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2023 to Question 186268 on Universal Credit: Childcare, whether he plans for proposed changes to the Universal Credit childcare element to be introduced to all Universal Credit recipients.

Guy Opperman: The UC childcare element is available to all eligible lone parents and couples, regardless of the number of hours they work. For couples, both parents need to be in paid work to be eligible, unless one of the allowable exceptions is met.UC claimants with dependent children that wish to take on more hours, move into work or those that have high childcare costs, can benefit from one or both of the changes.

Pensions: EU Countries

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the merits of pension regulatory regimes of EU member states.

Laura Trott: We continually engage and learn from international work, including on the latest developments and findings on the pension regimes in EU member states. This routinely informs policy development in the UK.

Pensioners: Repossession Orders

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of (a) the state pension and (b) pension credit on the number of pensioners whose home has been repossessed in each of the last five years.

Laura Trott: The Government does not hold this information. The Government is committed to supporting our pensioners and the State Pension is the foundation of support for people in retirement. In 2021/22 there were 200 thousand fewer pensioners in absolute poverty (after housing costs) than in 2009/10. In April, the State Pension saw its biggest ever cash increase - rising by 10.1%. The full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will be over £3,050 higher in cash terms than in 2010 That is £790 more than if it had been uprated by Prices, and £945 more than if it had been uprated by earnings since 2010. The Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit has also increased by 10.1% from April 2023. It extends CPI protection to those who rely on the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit at a cost of £700 million above the statutory minimum requirement. The same percentage increase will apply to the threshold for access to the Savings Credit for those who reached State Pension age before April 2016. Pensioners with a low income may qualify for help with their rent and council tax, and if receiving Pension Credit, other housing costs such as ground rent and certain service charges.

Local Housing Allowance: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Local Housing Allowance for residents in (a) York and (b) York Central constituency.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a comparative assessment of (a) the adequacy of the Local Housing Allowance and (b) the average rental costs for accommodation in the geographical area covered by the Broad Rental Market Area for York; and if he will make a statement.

Mims Davies: The Department monitors the proportion of households in receipt of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) whose monthly rent exceeds their LHA rate and the value of this shortfall. In York Central constituency, 63% of households have a shortfall averaging £180 a month. In York Outer constituency, 74% of households have a shortfall averaging £199 a month. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions reviews LHA rates annually, usually in the Autumn, and in 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile. The significant investment at that time has been maintained ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so. However, LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs. The Department does not collect data on rental costs for accommodation in each Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA), the Valuation Office Agency collects data on rental costs in England to produce the 30th percentile of market rents and publishes the list of rents utilised to calculate this. The latest list of rents for the period 1st October 2021 to 30th September 2022 is published here.

Maternity Pay

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the rate of statutory maternity pay as of June 2023 on health outcomes for (a) new mothers and (b) babies in each of the first five years following birth.

Mims Davies: The standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is reviewed annually. From April 2023, we increased the rate of SMP by September's CPI figure of 10.1 per cent to £172.48. There are no plans to review SMP outside of the annual uprating process.

Social Security Benefits: Cost of Living

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that the benefit system helps people impacted by increases in (a) inflation and (b) mortgages.

Mims Davies: The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their rising bills. We also increased benefits and the State Pension in April by 10.1%, in line with prices in the year to September 2022. Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, 8 million pensioner households will receive a £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top-up to their winter fuel payment, and individuals in receipt of an eligible disability benefits will receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment between 20 June and 4 July. Support for benefit claimants with a mortgage is available through the Support for Mortgage (SMI) scheme. SMI is available to homeowners who receive an income related benefit and enables them to stay in their homes without fear of repossession. To support mortgage borrowers with rising interest rates, on 3 April 2023, we extended the support SMI provides by offering UC claimants a loan after three months, instead of nine. We also extended SMI to in-work UC claimants so they can now receive support while working. The amount we pay is based on the Bank of England published average mortgage rate and recently increased from 2.09% to 2.65% on 10th May 2023. Any further changes to the interest rate will occur when the Bank of England average mortgage rate differs by 0.5 percentage points or more from the rate in payment.

Housing: Costs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department is taking to help people financially in areas that are subject to high housing costs.

Mims Davies: Households eligible for means-tested benefits can claim housing support towards their housing costs. Claimants in receipt of housing support living in social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS). For private renters, the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. In 2020 we raised LHA rates to the 30th percentile. This was a significant investment of almost £1 billion. We have maintained the increase since then so that everyone who benefited from the increase continues to do so. For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs. We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. Overall, the government is providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.

Income: Debts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, What estimate he has made of the minimum individual income threshold that is required to prevent people from going into debt.

Mims Davies: Every person has different requirements and as such there is no objective way of deciding what the minimum individual income is to prevent people from going into debt. Therefore, no such assessment has been made.The Government is increasing support for low income and vulnerable households with welfare expenditure forecast to rise from £275.6 billion in 2022/23 to £289.4 billion in 2023/24. The Spring Statement made clear that the focus is supporting workforce participation, helping people move into work and increase their earnings.

Pensioners: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support pensioners with increases in the cost of living in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.

Laura Trott: The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their rising bills. From April 2023, benefits and the State Pension, including the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee, were increased by 10.1%, in line with prices in the year to September 2022. Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, including the 1.4 million pensioners currently in receipt of Pension Credit, will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, over 8 million pensioner households will receive a £300 pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top up to their winter fuel payment increasing payments to £500 for those aged 66-79 and £600 for those aged 80 and over. Specific statistics relating to the pensioner Cost of Living Payments are not available. However, the latest available winter fuel payment statistics (2021/22) show that 14,352 customers in Coventry North East and 46,614 customers in Coventry received a winter fuel payment. We expect a similar number of customers will receive the pensioner Cost of Living Payments in 2022/23 and 2023/24. The DWP continues to work with stakeholders and others to raise awareness of Pension Credit nationwide, with a recent push for pensioners to apply before 19 May 2023 to receive the first £301 Cost of Living payment resulting in a 171% spike in claims over the two-week period before the deadline – over 20,000 claims. The latest campaign boost was this month’s Pension Credit ‘Week of Action’ 12-16 June. DWP joined forces with a whole range of partners to raise awareness and promote take-up of Pension Credit. As part of the Pension Credit ‘Week of Action’, I wrote to all MPs on 10 June encouraging them to hold their own community event. On 12 June I announced a new innovative “Invitation to Claim” trial which will launch across 10 local authorities in Great Britain this Summer. This will involve DWP sending letters to approximately 2,600 pensioner households identified via Housing Benefit data as being most likely to be entitled to Pension Credit and encouraging them to contact DWP and make a claim.

Sanitation

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to take steps to update the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) 1992 Regulations and Approved Code of Practice to ensure that there are sufficient toilets in workplaces for men experiencing incontinence following a radical prostatectomy to (a) dispose of their incontinence products hygienically and (b) not have to use facilities for disabled people.

Mims Davies: Regulation 2(3) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulation 1992 aims to ensure that workplaces meet the health, safety and welfare needs of any worker. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has informed me that they believe the Regulations are fit for purpose in this respect. Additionally, the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) (para 189) already states that provision must be made for any workers with a disability to enable them to have access to facilities which are adjusted to their use if necessary.

Department for Work and Pensions: Data Protection

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure of 14 June 2023 at Topical Questions, T7, Official Report, column 286, what plans his Department has to (a) utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill and (b) use smart data in new sectors.

Mims Davies: There is potential to explore Smart Data in further sectors, beyond Open Banking. Government, regulators and industry experts are working together via the Smart Data Council to ensure that the UK continues to be at the forefront of developments in this space.Before committing to utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No.2) Bill in any given sector, there is work to be done to understand how Smart Data can empower consumers and turbo charge competition.

Pensions: Regulation

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of legislation on private pension schemes for (a) support for pensioners during the cost-of-living crisis and (b) introducing an ethics code in the decision of payments.

Laura Trott: Employers have legal obligations to provide minimum levels of pension provision for certain groups of employees. As long as they comply with those obligations it is up to the individual employer to decide on the nature of the scheme and the exact benefits which are provided.

Parental Pay: Labour Turnover

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of raising levels of (a) Statutory Maternity Pay and (b) Statutory Paternity Pay on staff retention.

Mims Davies: The standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is reviewed annually. From April 2023, we increased the rate of SMP and SPP by September's CPI figure of 10.1 per cent to £172.48. There are no plans to review the impact of raising the rates outside of the annual uprating process.

Jobcentres: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent Armed Forces Champions have been posted in job centres in each year since 2015.

Mims Davies: The first operational year there was a specific activity category for Armed Force Champions was 20/21. The table therefore shows Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of Armed Forces Champions posted in Job Centres in each year since 2020. In 21/22, the department was establishing the AFC network and in May 2021 there were 31 AFCs/AFCLs in post and this number increased throughout the year as colleagues were recruited into these roles. Since 22/23, the department has committed to deploying 50 AFCs and 11 AFCLs across the 37 Jobcentre Districts. In May 2022, there were 61 AFC/AFCLs in post and in May 2023, there were 57 AFC/AFCLs in post due to recent attrition. Districts are currently in the process of recruiting to fill the vacant posts to ensure we are fulfilling our commitment of 61 dedicated AFCs and AFCL’s across the Jobcentre Network.  Source: DWP’s internal Activity Based Model (ABM) Armed Forces Champion, including Armed Forces  Champion Leads  FTE (Colleagues in post)Armed Forces Champion, including Armed Forces Champion Leads ABM FTE (Resource allocated) 202010  20213119  20226152  20235748Notes:Data is correct as of 31st May 2023.Data for Armed Forces Champion staff has been derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM). It includes both Armed Forces Champions and Armed Forces Champions Leads.The first operational year there was a specific ABM category for Armed Force Champions was 20/21.Data is taken from the end of May of each year.Less than 10 FTE shown as “-“.The number of Armed Forces Champions within Job Centres is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal department use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard. As the Department holds the information, we have released it.

Home Office

Asylum: Llanelli

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's proposal to use the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli constituency as asylum accommodation on that hotel's investors.

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department carried out due diligence checks on investors in the Stradey Park Hotel.

Robert Jenrick: Our accommodation providers are contractually obliged to provide adequate accommodation and to conduct regular quality assurance checks across the asylum estate. Accommodation providers complete due diligence checks and all accommodation must be statutorily and regulatory compliant before they are selected.

Asylum: Interviews

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2023 to Question 186690 on Asylum: Interviews, what steps she is taking to monitor (a) progress in the Streamlined Asylum Process and (b) the accuracy of the forecast budget.

Robert Jenrick: The commitment made by the Prime Minister on 13 December 2022 is to clear the backlog of legacy initial asylum decisions relating to claims made before 28 June 2022, by the end of 2023. We are taking immediate action to speed up asylum processing whilst maintaining the integrity of the system. This includes simplifying guidance, reducing interview length and streamlining processes. The Streamlined Asylum Process plays an important role in achieving this. We have already doubled our decision makers over the last 2 years. We are continuing to increase this further with large campaign already underway. This will take the headcount of our expected number of decision makers to 2,500 by September 2023. The aim is to clear the initial decision backlog of asylum legacy cases by the end of 2023.

Asylum: Hotels

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the cost to the public purse of accommodating unprocessed asylum seekers in hotels in the most recent week for which data is available.

Robert Jenrick: Under the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to house asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, whilst their claim is under consideration. The cost for hotel rooms has now reached £6 million a day. The enduring solution is to stop the boats and that’s why we have brought forward the Immigration bill.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether local authorities are able to use funds from the Local Authority Tariff and Household Costs Fund to help secure private rented accommodation for an Afghan household in the UK through the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan citizens resettlement schemes who (i) remain in a bridging hotel due to end 31 August 2023 and (ii) have submitted a homeless application to a local authority.

Robert Jenrick: Those applying for the ARAP and ACRS will be able to access the Find Your Own accommodation pathway. Local Authorities will be able to use the funding to secure private rented accommodation for an Afghan household. The government is providing £285 million of new funding to local authorities supporting the Afghan resettlement schemes. This includes £35 million in new cash for local authorities, which will go towards increasing the level of support available and overcoming key barriers in accessing the housing system and employment and a £250 million expansion of the Local Authority Housing Fund to help councils to source homes to house Afghans currently in bridging accommodation.

Advertising: Fraud

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the National Crime Agency has made an estimate of the proportion of UK-facing online advertising content which promotes fraudulent activity which is hosted by (a) Facebook, (b) WhatsApp, (c) Instagram, (d) Telegram, (e)  TikTok, (f) Twitter and (g) Snapchat.

Tom Tugendhat: Fraudsters frequently use paid-for advertising to socially engineer consumers into falling victim to fraud. Social media sites and messaging services can unknowingly facilitate fraudulent content, where criminals set up fake profiles and use marketing tools to target the most vulnerable.Whilst the NCA regularly conduct assessments to consider the methodologies and typologies of fraudulent activity online, I am not aware of an assessment of the scale of fraud facilitated by paid-for advertising on specific platforms.The Government recognises the importance of tackling this issue and set out our approach in the recently published Fraud Strategy, with a key pillar focused on blocking frauds from happening in the first place.To do this we are legislating through the Online Safety Bill, including a standalone duty for the largest in-scope platforms to prevent fraudulent advertising appearing on their services.The Online Advertising Programme will expand on this to ensure UK-facing online advertising is safe from fraud and other harms. We are also developing an Online Fraud Charter with the largest platforms to agree further voluntary action to tackle online fraud, including through advertising.

Asylum: Hotels

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost was to the public purse of Britannia group hotels for housing asylum seekers in (a) the UK, (b) the North West Region and (c) Halton Borough in the last (i) three, (ii) six, (iii) 12 and 24 months.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not release these costs due to commercial sensitivity.

Home Office: Rwanda

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has (a) current and (b) former personal interests in Rwanda.

Suella Braverman: My registered interests are declared and published on the UK Parliament website: Register of Interests for Suella Braverman - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament.

Police: Powers

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department issues on the responsibilities of (a)her Department and (b) the National Police Chiefs Council on (i) collection and (ii) publication of data on the use of powers given to police under the (A) Police, Crimes, Sentencing and Court Act 2022 and (B) Public Order Act 2023.

Chris Philp: As part of the 2023-24 Annual Data Requirement (ADR), the Home Office introduced a new mandatory requirement for police forces in England and Wales to record data on the use of section 12, 14 and 14ZA under the Public Order Act 1986 Act made by sections 73, 74 and 79 of the Police, Crime and Sentencing Courts Act 2022. The ADR also included a request for retrospective data on the use of these powers for the period of 28 June 2022 to 31 March 2023. There is a statutory commitment for the data to be published by June 2024.The section 12, 14, and 14ZA ADR was developed in collaboration with National Police Coordination Centre, who are overseen by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). The Home Office and the NPCC, therefore, recognise the importance of collecting information on the following: the date and time of the protest; the conditions imposed; the triggers; the theme of the protests/assembly; demographic information such as age, sex and ethnicity; the level of authorisation and the number of resultant arrests.There is no statutory duty to collect and publish data on the powers given to the police under the Public Order Act 2023, however, the government is required to submit a memorandum to the relevant departmental select committee with a preliminary assessment of how the Act has worked within three to five years of Royal Assent to allow the committee to decide whether it wishes to conduct further post-legislative scrutiny.In addition, the Home Office publishes extensive data on police use of stop and search and will expand this publication to the use of the new powers provided for in Public Order Act 2023.

Quad Bikes: Crime

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to prevent people who have been found to have used quad bikes illegally from purchasing another quad bike.

Chris Philp: The licensing and regulatory framework for quad bikes and other forms of transport is a matter for the Department for Transport.The Home Office does not have a role in relation to the buying and selling of privately owned vehicles such as quad bikes.

Passports: Applications

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the average waiting times for passport applications since August 2022.

Robert Jenrick: People are receiving their passports in good time. Between August 2022 and May 2023, 97.4% of customers using the standard UK service received their passport within the published processing timeframe of ten weeks.Between January and May 2023, 99.4% of customers using the standard UK service received their passport within the published processing timeframe of ten weeks.

Passports: Republic of Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications from residents of the Republic of Ireland were processed by the passport office in Belfast in each year since April 2019.

Robert Jenrick: Passport applications are distributed across offices throughout the UK and are not only processed at the nearest site. As a result, this information is not held in a reportable format.

Visas: Migrant Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to create a fast-track process for visa applications from overseas healthcare staff coming to work in the NHS.

Robert Jenrick: This has been the Government’s policy since the introduction of the Health & Care visa in August 2020.

Quad Bikes: Crime

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) powers and (b) resources available to the police to deal with the illegal use of quad bikes.

Chris Philp: The police have adequate powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles being driven illegally without a valid driving licence or insurance or in an anti-social manner.Decisions on when to use these powers and deploy available resources are operational matters for individual Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables in conjunction with local policing plans. They are best placed to understand how to meet the needs of local communities.

Knives: Crime

Naz Shah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide a list of projects funded by the £340 million allocated to tackle knife crime in last three years; and if her Department has allocated any additional funding (a) to tackle Serious Violent Crime, (b) to tackle Knife Crime and (c) for crime prevention activities in the last three years.

Chris Philp: Since 2019 the Home Office has made available £340 million in the 20 police force areas of England and Wales (18 areas until 2022) most affected by serious violence, including knife crime, to support the work of local partners and the police in tackling these appalling crimes.This includes £170m that we have made available for the Home Office Violence Reduction Unit Programme and £170m that we have made available for the Grip programme (previously known as Surge) hot spot policing programme. Violence Reduction Units bring together key partners including representatives of local authorities, health, education, and policing to identify the local drivers of violence and agree and deliver a programme of action in response to these. Through the Grip programme, we are funding additional, visible policing patrols and problem-solving activity in the streets and neighbourhoods most affected by violent crime. The police force areas in which Violence Reduction Unit and Grip projects are being delivered are: London, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Northumbria, Thames Valley, Lancashire, Essex, Avon & Somerset, Kent, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Bedfordshire, Sussex, Hampshire, South Wales, Cleveland, and Humberside. Violence Reduction Unit and Grip funding will continue in the 23/24 financial year.In addition to this, there is other funding from the Home Office for crime prevention activities.Information regarding all Government grants statistics can also be found on Gov.uk.The Government’s Spending Review announcements can also be found on Gov.uk.

Illegal Migration Bill

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the compatibility of the Illegal Migration Bill with international humanitarian law.

Robert Jenrick: The Government takes its international obligations very seriously. There is nothing in the Bill that requires the Government to act incompatibly with our international obligations.The Home Secretary and I have had regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues about the Bill.

Department for Business and Trade

Bullying: Employment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of anti-bullying (a) policies and (b) legislation on the number of incidences of bullying at work.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government is clear that any form of bullying and harassment is unacceptable and has no place in today’s workplace.The Government has published guidance that sets out the steps that employees can take if they are experiencing bullying or harassment at work. This guidance sets out that anti-bullying and harassment policies can help prevent problems and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment.Bullying is not itself illegal, and the Government believes that the best way to address bad behaviour in the workplace is through cultural change.

Environment Protection: Trade

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to increase green trade.

Nigel Huddleston: According to forecasts published in 2017, the UK could generate up to £170 billion green exports by 2030. These opportunities are immense, which is why we continue to drive green trade to futureproof the UK economy. We continue to: promote investment into the UK’s green industries – including through the Green Trade and Investment Expo and the upcoming Global Investment Summit in October,promote the UK’s export strengths in mitigation and adaptation technologies, including at the COP27 UK Pavilion and upcoming COP28 summit, andbreak down barriers to green trade, including through the new international coalition of trade ministers on climate, and other international climate cooperation, for example activities to support the development of the offshore wind market in Brazil.

Service Industries: Meriden

Saqib Bhatti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the contribution of the services sector in Meriden constituency to (a) exports and (b) economic growth.

Nigel Huddleston: There is currently no data at the constituency level available to assess the potential merits of the contribution of the services sector in Meriden constituency to exports and economic growth. The UK is a highly service-based economy and the second biggest exporter of services in the world, with the sector contributing to around half of UK exports and 80% of our economy. In 2022, UK services exports were a record £401 billion, up 4% compared to 2018 (adjusted for inflation) – one of the stronger recoveries in the G7. We are working with the Office for National Statistics and HM Revenue and Customs to improve estimates of trade at the smaller geographies. The department works closely with local partners, including Solihull Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority, to identify and nurture opportunities for economic growth. The Combined Authority has been allocated in excess of £105m in funding from sources such as UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Made Smarter and Growth Hub to provide local support which would help companies to grow. This includes the professional and financial services sector, which has been identified as a key sector in the West Midlands Combined Authority’s ‘Plan for Growth’.

Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to commence the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023.

Kevin Hollinrake: Provisions in the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 will commence ahead of the planned implementation date for the new entitlements, in April 2025. Work is ongoing across Government to deliver these new entitlements.

United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June to Question 189196 on United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, what aspects of that Act her Department plans to review within the two year period starting at the end of 2023.

Nigel Huddleston: As set out in the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, the review provisions relate to (i) any use of the powers in the Act to amend certain provisions of parts 1 and 2 of the Act; and (ii) the arrangements for carrying out the functions in part 4 of the Act. More information on the review provisions can be found in the explanatory notes to the Act, including those relating to sections 13, 22 and 44, which can be found on www.legislation.gov.uk.

Zero Hours Contracts

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of zero-hour contracts on the (a) health and (b) well-being of workers.

Kevin Hollinrake: Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them. Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%) (2022).

Zero Hours Contracts

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) young workers, (b) women and (c) workers not born in the UK that are subject to zero-hour contracts.

Kevin Hollinrake: Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are use-ful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a ze-ro hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them. To support lower paid workers we have extended the ban on exclusivity clauses, which restrict staff from working for multiple employers, to contracts where the guaranteed weekly income is equivalent to or below the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 a week. On 1 April 2023, the Government increased the National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 23 years and over by 9.7% to £10.42.

Zero Hours Contracts

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions she has had with (a) businesses, (b) devolved administrations and (c) Trade Union Congress on methods to reduce the number of workers on zero-hour contracts.

Kevin Hollinrake: Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them. Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%)(2022).

Zero Hours Contracts: Scotland

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions she has had with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) public bodies on the potential merits of changing procurement processes to reduce the use of zero-hour contracts in Scotland.

Kevin Hollinrake: Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them. Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%) (2022).

Zero Hours Contracts

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of people on zero hours contracts in (a) the North East and (b) the UK.

Kevin Hollinrake: Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them. Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%) (2022).

Zero Hours Contracts

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Office for National Statistics report entitled EMP17: People in employment on zero hours contracts, published in May 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of data on the number of people on a zero hours contract.

Kevin Hollinrake: Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them. Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%) (2022).

Remote Working: Equal Pay

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of working from home policies on the gender pay gap.

Kevin Hollinrake: We have not made an assessment of the impact of home or remote working policies on the gender pay gap specifically.The gender pay gap for all employees has been falling over time. The gap was 14.9% in 2022, and remains lower than the pre-covid period, where it stood at 17.4% in 2019.

Deep Sea Mining: Job Creation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the number of jobs created by deep sea mining in the UK in each of the last five years.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) companies that are involved in deep sea mining and (b) jobs supported by that industry.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an estimate of the average wage of people employed in the deep sea mining industry in the UK.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: This information is not held centrally.

Business: Equal Pay

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what further steps she plans to take with businesses to help ensure equal pro rata pay between full-time and part-time staff.

Kevin Hollinrake: The UK’s flexible labour market enables workers to participate in the workforce in a way that suits their circumstances. Being able to work reduced hours can be critical in helping people to access, stay and progress in work while also managing other commitments and priorities. The Part-time Worker Regulations protect part-time workers from being treated less favourably than equivalent full-time workers just because they are part-time, including on pay. The government expects all businesses to comply with these regulations.

Deep Sea Mining

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a moratorium on deep sea mining activities until a review has been conducted into its environmental, social and economic impacts.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government commissioned an independent review from the British Geological Survey, the National Oceanography Centre and Heriot-Watt University. The terms of reference included a review of minerals contained in seafloor deposits and how this compares to terrestrial resources, with discussion on future resource potential and knowledge gaps. The review was published in October 2022 and is available here:https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/deep-sea-mining-evidence-review-published/

Department of Health and Social Care

Whipps Cross Hospital: Repairs and Maintenance

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral statement of 25 May 2023, Official Report, column 477, when his Department will confirm how much funding will be provided for the rebuilding of Whipps Cross Hospital; and when the funding will be available to Barts Health NHS Trust.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Radiotherapy: Health Professions:

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include provisions in the NHS workforce plan to increase the nuclear medicines workforce; and what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of supply of that workforce to meet future demand for (a) molecular radiotherapy and (b) other treatments.

Will Quince: The Government has committed to publishing the Long-Term Workforce Plan shortly. This will include projections for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals that will be needed, taking full account of improvements in retention and productivity. This plan will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills, to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future.NHS England are currently leading work to revise the Brachytherapy and Molecular Radiotherapy Service Specification and to understand current service readiness to expand access to new molecular radiotherapy treatments, should they be approved by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Podiatry: Rheumatology

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase rheumatology services’ access to podiatry services.

Helen Whately: The composition of rheumatology teams is for local determination.NHS England is working with The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme. The GIRFT report published in February 2021, on rheumatology recommends that patients have the right to a podiatrist and can access podiatry services, alongside other healthcare professionals, through a single named contact. This implementation of the recommendation is ongoing.

Medical Treatments: Enfield North

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure that vulnerable people receive any medial treatment they need in Enfield North constituency.

Helen Whately: North Central London Integrated Care System (NCL ICS) , which covers the Enfield North constituency, has implemented a range of initiatives to ensure vulnerable people receive the medical treatment they need. This includes extending availability of general practitioner appointments to seven days a week, working with communities in the borough to understand their needs and to inform the commissioning and delivery of services, and raising the profile of preventive services, such as NHS cancer screening services and NHS health checks. Specific Inclusion Health initiatives are also being implemented across NCL ICS to target vulnerable groups, like people experiencing homelessness, and specific areas of concern, like blood born viruses.The NCL Inequalities Fund has funded a variety of projects which, alongside the range of public health and preventative services commissioned by Enfield Local Authority through the Public Health Grant, aim to increase access to health and care services for under-served communities. Some examples of these are smoking cessation services, the ABC Parents Project, oral health promotion services, sexual health services and health visiting services.

Cancer: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps toehelp ensure that funding for cancer research is focused on less survivable cancers.

Helen Whately: The Department invests in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cancers with lower survival rates. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area, is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. NIHR expenditure on cancer research was £98.3 million in 2021/22.

Cancer: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to increase funding for research into cancers with the poorest prognosis.

Helen Whately: The Department invests in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cancers for which there are poor prognoses. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area, is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. NIHR expenditure on cancer research was £98.3 million in 2021/22.

Bowel Cancer: Screening

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of variations in the uptake of the bowel cancer screening programme in (a) Enfield North constituency and (b) the London Borough of Enfield.

Helen Whately: Using the National Health Service ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign local materials have been developed to support outreach with groups in Enfield who experience inequalities around cancer, with a focus on bowel cancer screening.Online events have been organised, such as webinars and presentations, including to Enfield Borough Partnership Black Health Forum. Enfield’s Learning Disabilities team have also supported outreach with service user groups to inform and participate in the co-production and distribution of easy read resources.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2023 to Question 187960 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, if he will publish (a) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's review of the study by Fraiman, J., et al., entitled Serious adverse events of special interest following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in randomized trials in adults, published in the journal Vaccine on 22 September 2022 and (b) the latest information his Department holds on rates of serious adverse events associated with covid-19 vaccination.

Will Quince: No vaccine would be authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) unless it meets our stringent standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.The MHRA keep all available evidence under review including studies, published literature and data arising from the widespread use in the United Kingdom and globally including the article highlighted. The MHRA communicates safety advice based upon the totality of evidence rather than the strengths and limitations of individual data sources.The MHRA position is that the benefits of these vaccines in preventing serious complications associated with COVID-19 continue to outweigh the known risks for the majority of individuals. A summary of the MHRA’s safety review is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-adverse-reactions/coronavirus-vaccine-summary-of-yellow-card-reportingThe MHRA publishes a breakdown of reports received by seriousness on the Yellow Card website, however it is not possible to calculate seriousness rates from this data.

Abortion: Drugs

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department takes to help ensure that providers of abortion medications are held accountable for sending abortion pills to women outside the legal conditions.

Maria Caulfield: All independent sector services wishing to perform termination of pregnancy must be approved by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) before they are able to provide abortion services. The CQC inspect independent sector abortion services. If a CQC inspection identifies instances of non-compliance, then appropriate regulatory action will be taken.The Regulations require registered medical professionals to certify in ‘good faith’ that the gestation period is below 10 weeks if the doctor terminating the pregnancy prescribes the abortion pills from their home, or if one or both pills for early medical abortion are to be taken by the pregnant woman at her home. This certification must be recorded on form EMA1 or a similar certificate and must be kept for three years from the date on which the medicine for the treatment of the pregnancy is prescribed.

Abortion

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with abortion providers on potential changes to the law on abortion.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has not held discussions with abortion providers regarding potential changes to the 1967 Abortion Act.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of recognising people who have severe learning disabilities as being clinically vulnerable for the purposes of the eligibility criteria for covid-19 booster jabs.

Maria Caulfield: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the independent body made up of scientific and clinical experts who advise Government on which authorised vaccines the United Kingdom should use and which groups in the population should be offered initial or further doses of a particular vaccine.The primary aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme continues to be the prevention of severe disease, such as hospitalisation and mortality, arising from COVID-19. The JCVI identified at the start of the programme a number of groups in the population at high clinical risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19. One of these clinical risk groups covers those with chronic neurological disease. This includes all those with severe learning difficulties. The full list of conditions covered is defined in tables two and four of the UK Health Security Agency guide to vaccinators known as the Green Book.For each new COVID-19 booster campaign the JCVI considers which groups should be recommended for a further booster. For the current spring campaign, the JCVI has recommended boosters were needed only for those at the very highest risk of serious outcomes. This covered those in care homes for older people, all those aged 75 years old or over and all those aged 5 or over who are immunosuppressed. The JCVI has advised that there should be a further booster programme in autumn 2023 for those at higher risk of severe COVID-19. Advice from the JCVI on which risk groups are recommended for a booster dose in autumn 2023 is expected ahead of autumn.

Mental Health Services

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is in place for people with psychosis.

Maria Caulfield: It is for individual integrated care boards to commission mental health services, including those for people with psychosis, in order to meet the needs of their local population.We have introduced waiting times standards for early intervention in psychosis services and are expanding and transforming National Health Service mental health services, backed by additional investment of £2.3 billion a year by March 2024 to enable an extra 2 million people in England to access NHS funded mental health support.

Health Services: Women

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that his Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the NHS collaborate to align priorities for women's health.

Maria Caulfield: The Department works closes with its arm length bodies and its other health system partners to deliver on Government priorities including those in the Women’s Health Strategy for England.

Abortion: Drugs

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on how many providers of abortion medications have been prosecuted for sending abortion pills out past the 10-week limit in each of the last five years.

Maria Caulfield: The Department does not hold this information. Decisions to bring a prosecution in relation to the law on abortion are for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Prisons: Drugs

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of tackling substance misuse in prisons in each year since 2010.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not separately identifiable due to the way services are commissioned across the secure and detained estate.

Encephalitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase awareness of tick-borne encephalitis.

Maria Caulfield: The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA), along with local authority partners, developed a Tick Awareness Toolkit which has been shared with local authorities and other organisations to deliver tick awareness messaging, including safety relating to ticks and the promotion of tick-bite prevention behaviours. This can be deployed in a variety of settings, including general practitioner surgeries and outdoor spaces. The toolkit also encourages local authorities to evaluate the impact of any campaign work. In order to increase awareness of tick-borne encephalitis amongst clinicians UKHSA has cascaded a briefing note to National Health Service clinicians and has presented on the disease to national and international conferences to inform relevant specialist groups.

Mental Health Services: Mothers

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he Department is taking to improve the performance of the NHS in supporting women who experience birth trauma.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment that 66,000 women to access specialist perinatal mental health services by 2023/24. An estimated 52,000 accessed support in the 12 months to March 2023, over 60% higher than March 2021.Alongside the expansion of specialist community perinatal mental health services, new services (called Maternal Mental Health Services) which combine maternity, reproductive health and psychological therapy are being established for women who experience moderate to severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from, or related to, their maternity experience. This may include those who experience post-traumatic stress disorder following birth trauma, perinatal loss or severe fear of childbirth (tokophobia).

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will re-establish the Hormone Replacement Therapy Taskforce.

Maria Caulfield: The hormone replacement therapy (HRT) Supply Taskforce was temporarily established from April to August 2022 to explore what could be done to address HRT supply issues in the short and long-term. The Department has no plans to re-establish the Taskforce, however we are taking forward its recommendations. One recommendation was to continue the dialogue with industry and we are doing that through regular meetings with individual suppliers as well as holding quarterly roundtables with manufacturers, wholesalers and community pharmacist representatives to discuss policy developments, identify and help address issues and drive progress towards boosting production, where necessary.The Taskforce also recommended continuing to use Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs), as appropriate, to help manage shortages pending increased supply. We have issued 22 SSPs for HRT products since April 2022, to limit dispensing to two or three months’ supply and to allow the dispensing of suitable alternatives. Only two SSPs remain in place for HRT medicines as the supply issues with most products have now been resolved.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to roll out an infant Respiratory syncytial virus immunisation programme in time for this winter.

Maria Caulfield: The United Kingdom has a programme of monoclonal antibody immunisation to reduce the risk of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease in babies at high risk of complications, including those with major congenital heart disease and complications of prematurity. For RSV, this includes the selective seasonal offer to infants at high risk, which is managed and reviewed in accordance with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).Advice has recently been given by JCVI for specialised commissioning to work towards replacing the current vaccine palivizumab with nirsevimab. Nirsevimab should give protection for at least six months and possibly longer, unlike palivizumab which requires administration of monthly doses in a series of five monthly injections to infants and children during the RSV season. NHS England is working with partners, including the UK Health Security Agency, to plan for and manage the transition from palivizumab to nirsevimab.

Abortion: Drugs

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of the provision of abortion pills through the post to women who are beyond the legal limit for gestational age; and if he will commission an urgent review into the potential impact of at-home abortion provision on women’s (a) health and (b) safety.

Maria Caulfield: No assessment has been made. The Government has no current plans to commission a review into the impact of home use of pills for abortion on women’s health and safety.

Department of Health and Social Care: Empty Property

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2023 to Question 187396 on Department of Health and Social Care: Empty Property, if he will provide a breakdown of each property's (a) original use or purpose, (b) location and (c) reason for vacancy.

Will Quince: The empty property details are shown in the following table. BodyOriginal UseLocationReason for vacancyDepartment of Health and Social Care - ‘Retained Estate’: property retained in the ownership of Secretary of State for Health following the establishment of National Health Service trustsFormer hospitalRadlettNo longer vacant - property disposed.Department of Health and Social Care - ‘Retained Estate’: property retained in the ownership of Secretary of State for Health following the establishment of National Health Service trustsFormer care homesVariousFormer care homes ready for disposalNHS DigitalOfficesExeterImpacted by introduction of alternative working patterns. Property to disposed in September 2023  BackgroundThe former Harperbury Hospital which closed in 2001. Harperbury was a large site and incurred significant security costs until it was sold in October 2017. Costs pertaining to Harperbury were included in the answer of 19 June 2023 to Question 187396 as that PQ asked for costs of empty property spent since June 2015. We have therefore included Harperbury in this answer as the question is to breakdown the properties that the costs from Question 187396 originated from. DHSC also owns a small number of vacant ex-care-homes, which it is in the process of marketing, individually, based on the circumstance of each property and local market conditions. Security is appropriate in some locations until they are disposed. Due to staff absences we cannot provide a categorically accurate list on these care home properties at the moment. This is an area actively pursued with officials having sold a property in London on Friday 16th June Hembury House, Rydon Lane, Pynes Hill, Exeter was used as an office space to accommodate approximately 200 NHS Digital staff. New ways of working introduced during the pandemic enabled NHS Digital to accommodate all staff in Exeter in a single, adjacent building, Hexagon House. Hembury House is surplus and ready for exit when the lease expires in September 2023.

Tobacco

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's Guidance for government engagement with the tobacco industry, published on 19 June, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) monitor the application and (b) tackle breaches of that guidance.

Neil O'Brien: The Government has published guidance to ensure public bodies continue to prevent industry interference into health policy. This will be monitored, including through the United Kingdom’s rank on the Global Tobacco Index which has been consistently high. Breaches will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Animal products: EU law

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of repealing 4.1 and 4.2 of Annex III of EU Regulation 1069/2011.

Neil O'Brien: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for the safety of high caffeine drinks and foods, including the caffeine labelling requirements set out in Articles 4.1 and 4.2 of Annex III of retained EU Regulation No. 1169/2011.These articles require information to be provided on the level of caffeine, in milligrams per 100 millilitres or per 100 grams and helps to highlight the existence of caffeine in a product where, unlike a coffee or tea, people may not expect it to be present.We have no current plans to remove these requirements as some people need to limit their caffeine consumption such as pregnant women where high caffeine consumption can increase the risk of pregnancy complications. However, the FSA is considering the UK Government’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and what opportunities there are to reform legislation, where needed.The FSA advises that children, or other people sensitive to caffeine, should only consume caffeine in moderation. Pregnant and breast-feeding women should limit their caffeine consumption to less than 200 mg a day. As the level of caffeine can vary between high caffeine ‘energy’ drinks and caffeinated foods, the labelling requirement provide useful information for consumers who need to limit their caffeine consumption.

Nurses: Conditions of Employment

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses in the NHS are (a) employed on a permanent contract only, (b) work on both permanent contracts and bank shifts and (c) work bank shifts only as of 20 June 2023.

Will Quince: The information requested is not held centrally.

Pharmacy: Training

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) the number of universities offering and (b) number of places available on Overseas Pharmacists' Assessment Programme courses.

Neil O'Brien: Overseas pharmacy professionals must meet the same standards as United Kingdom pharmacy professionals. Pharmacists that do not hold eligible qualifications, or who are non-EEA pharmacists, must complete the Overseas Pharmacists’ Assessment Programme (OSPAP), which is regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), before they can register and practise in the UK.The OSPAP is currently oversubscribed, and the GPhC has written to accredited educational providers to highlight the demand for places. Ultimately, this is a decision for providers and a limited number of additional places have been created.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in countries from which the NHS recruits staff on (a) language and (b) clinical language education in those countries.

Will Quince: Whilst there have been no specific discussions on the part of the Secretary of State, the Department regularly engages with relevant counterparts from which the National Health Service recruits staff on the topics of language and clinical language education in those countries.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS staff are not recruited from countries with health worker shortages.

Will Quince: The Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel in England guarantees stringent ethical standards when recruiting health and social care staff from overseas. The code aligns with the latest advice from the World Health Organization and prohibits active international recruitment from countries with the most pressing health workforce challenges, except where a Government-to-Government agreement is in place.However, the Code is mindful of an individuals’ right to migrate and individuals from countries on this list can make direct applications for vacancies in the United Kingdom health and social care sectors, if they do so independently and of their own accord.

General Practitioners: Standards

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to consult on the future of the Quality and Outcomes Framework.

Neil O'Brien: In response to feedback from practice teams, General Practice Committee England and the Health and Care Select Committee on the Future of Primary Care, the profession and representative patient groups will be consulted on the Quality and Outcomes Framework and its future form in Summer 2023.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Russia: Weapons

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in the South African government on reports that South Africa has supplied weapons to Russia.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: On 1 June the Foreign Secretary spoke with South Africa's Foreign Minister to discuss South Africa's stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We understand South Africa's long-held non-alignment policy and we encourage South Africa to follow its own principles and use their available channels, including the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and their G20 Presidency preparations, to urge Russia to end its unprovoked and illegal invasion and create room for diplomacy.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Data Protection

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure of 14 June 2023 at Topical Questions, T7, Official Report, column 286, what plans his Department has to (a) utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill and (b) use smart data in new sectors.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The FCDO recognises the importance of data and evidence to enabling its diplomatic, development and consular work. The FCDO will work with Cabinet Office and others across HMG to ensure that the FCDO is able to take advantage of the benefits derived from data, including future developments in this space, whilst ensuring we remain compliant with existing data protection legislation.

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement: Deep Sea Mining

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance his Department issues on the compatibility of deep sea mining with the United Nations High Seas Treaty.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UN Agreement on Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) will be open for signature on 20 September 2023 and enter into force after sixty countries become parties. The UK will sign early, ratify, and help lead its implementation and support others to do so. The UK has committed not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep-sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep-sea ecosystems and strong and enforceable environmental regulations and standards have been developed by the International Seabed Authority and are in place. The UK's approach is precautionary and conditional.

Bangladesh: Elections

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bangladeshi counterpart on the freedom and fairness of the forthcoming General Election in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We regularly raise with the Government of Bangladesh, in public and private, the need to take meaningful steps to ensure a transparent and accountable electoral process in 2024. The Foreign Secretary met Prime Minister Hasina in May, and raised the importance of free, fair and participatory elections, and the need for inter-party dialogue. We welcome Bangladesh's commitment to international election observation. The UK will continue to engage with the Government of Bangladesh to support efforts towards a stable, prosperous and democratic Bangladesh.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the arrest of four Baha'i leaders in Iran on 1 May 2023.

David Rutley: The UK unequivocally condemns the persecution of religious minorities in Iran. We are appalled by reports of the regime's increased detentions of Baha'is, as well as expropriation of land and destruction of homes of the Baha'i community. On 20 December 2022, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), Fiona Bruce, expressed the UK's condemnation of Iran's imprisonment of Baha'i leaders. We raise FoRB and wider human rights issues with the regime at all appropriate opportunities, and we continue to work closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account for its dire human rights record.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Disease Control

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) HIV/AIDS and (b) sexually transmitted diseases' control under the OECD’s DAC code 13040 (i) bilaterally and (ii) multilaterally in each of the last three calendar years for which figures are available.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Under the OECD's DAC code 13040 the UK spent:In 2018i) £11.1 million of bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA), including £10.1 million from FCDO.ii) £137.8 million of imputed UK share of core multilateral ODA.In 2019i) £8.6 million of bilateral ODA, including £8.3 million from FCDO.ii) £119.5 million of imputed UK share of core multilateral ODA.In 2020i) £9.5 million of bilateral ODA, including £8.4 million from FCDO.ii) £249.9 million of imputed UK share of core multilateral ODA.In 2021i) £5.8 million of bilateral ODA, including £4.5 million from FCDO.ii) Imputed UK share of core multilateral ODA is not yet available for this year.UK ODA is published in line with the OECD DAC purpose code standards, 13040 is defined as "STD control including HIV/AIDS" and no further spend disaggregation is available. Please note, total UK core contributions spent in each sector are estimated based on the breakdown of ODA reported by each multilateral organisation.For further sector spend information, refer to the latest "Statistics on International Development: final UK aid" publication.

Developing Countries: Children

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the psychosocial needs of children are being met in (a) fragile, (b) conflict-affected and (c) other humanitarian contexts.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As part of our role on the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), we call for access to non-discriminatory and comprehensive specialised services, including psychosocial support for children affected by conflict.The FCDO has recently funded a project to provide protection services for children in Yemen; over 1300 children accessed high quality and safe psychosocial support.Our UNICEF funding supports children in humanitarian situations who experience or are at risk of sexual violence including projects like the Blue Dot Shelters, which provide a safe space for families and children on the move in emergencies.

Israel: Prisoners

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on the Bill in the Knesset to amend the Prisons Ordinance (Revoking Eligibility for Funding Healthcare Services to Improve Quality of Life for Security Prisoners); and whether he has made representations to those counterparts on the need to ensure that prisoners receive medical care equal to that available to the general public.

David Rutley: The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We recognise that under International Humanitarian Law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent of the means available to it. The UK Government welcomes any effort to cooperate between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, including in the healthcare sector. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.

Walid Daqqa

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials in his Department have had discussion with their Israeli counterparts on (a) releasing Walid Al Daqqa and (b) whether Walid Al Daqqa's medical needs are being met in the IPS medical centre.

David Rutley: Israel must abide by its obligations under International Humanitarian Law. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We recognise that under International Humanitarian Law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent of the means available to it. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.

Yemen: Food

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the Affordability of Food and Finance programme in Yemen.

David Rutley: Food insecurity and malnutrition levels in Yemen remain severe in 2023: 17 million people currently experience acute food insecurity. With 90% of Yemen's food being imported, exchange rate volatility is a leading factor driving famine risk. Consequently, the FCDO's Affordability of Food & Finance in Yemen (AFFY) programme targets short-term economic stabilisation and conflict-related drivers of food insecurity.In the longer-term, AFFY aims to support prospects for peace and recovery by laying the groundwork for large-scale recovery and reconstruction funding that would follow a peace settlement. The AFFY programme will spend up to £17 million over 3 years. AFFY sits within our wider portfolio of programmes targeting food insecurity and humanitarian need.

Developing Countries: Education

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to consult with children's groups to help tackle barriers to education in developing countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO is committed to addressing barriers to education. An essential part of this is engaging with children, particularly girls, on the issues that affect them. In May 2023, officials met with adolescent girls to hear about the barriers to education they are facing, including early marriage, gender-based violence, poverty and conflict. Girls' Clubs, implemented through the UK's Girls' Education Challenge projects, consult students on the barriers they face to education and how best to overcome them. Club members in the Somali Girls' Education Promotion Programme achieved significantly higher gains in learning - 6.6 percentage points over and above their peers.

Hostage Taking

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to establish a UK equivalent of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.

David Rutley: We have responded to the Foreign Affairs Committee regarding their recent inquiry related to this question and expect them to publish our response shortly.

Climate Change: Internally Displaced People

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect children who have been forcibly displaced following climate-related events.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Within the UK's humanitarian responses, children are often the most vulnerable and therefore routinely prioritised for assistance by our partners in most contexts, including those caused by climate shocks. All of the UK's core humanitarian funding to UN partners has specific activities relating to child protection or assistance. Specifically the UK is a major supporter of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) which has an international mandate to protect children. The UK provided £125 million of humanitarian funding to UNICEF in 2022, including in various crises where children have been displaced. UNICEF have recently published their guiding principles for children on the move amid climate change.

Haiti: Bilateral Aid

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to coordinate bilateral training for police and security forces in Haiti.

David Rutley: The UK is following closely the deteriorating political and security situation in Haiti and the impact this is having on the Haitian people. FCDO officials are engaged in the UN Security Council discussions on the security challenges facing Haiti and we continue to work with our international partners to build a coordinated and effective response in Haiti.

Turkey: Kurds

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on Kurdish political prisoners in that country.

Leo Docherty: We hold regular discussions with the Turkish government, on a range of issues, including human rights in Turkey and the government's legal attempts to close down the People's Democratic Party (HDP), as well as the jailing of Kurdish politicians. We have made it clear to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake any legal processes or actions against opposition parties fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. The Foreign Secretary met with his Turkish counterpart on 21 June in London.

Turkey: Democracy and Rule of Law

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the functioning of democracy and rule of law.

Leo Docherty: The UK is committed to upholding the rule of law, freedom and democracy across the world. We encourage Turkey to work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, particularly in the area of freedom of expression and assembly, which is essential to the long-term health of Turkish democracy. We encourage Turkey to uphold these values and to live up to its international obligations as a founding member state of the Council of Europe. We regularly engage with Turkey on these issues at the highest levels; most recently, the Foreign Secretary met with his Turkish counterpart on 21 June in London.

NATO: Diplomatic Relations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he plans to take to support NATO.

Leo Docherty: The Foreign Secretary regularly engages with all NATO Allies, including most recently at the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting from 31 May to 1 June. The Foreign Secretary looks forward to attending the NATO Leaders' Summit in Vilnius, where we will demonstrate our unity and reiterate our support to Ukraine.

Ukraine: Reconstruction

Sir Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential utility of an augmentation task force of experienced UK former (a) officials and (b) military personnel to work on preliminary plans for the reconstruction of Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Leo Docherty: The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in London demonstrated the UK's commitment to Ukraine's reconstruction. It is for Ukraine to lead reconstruction planning in accordance with the National Recovery Plan it unveiled in 2022. Through the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine, we, alongside partners, are working with Ukraine to determine its immediate recovery priorities. We are considering initiatives to support Ukraine's early recovery and reform programme. At the URC, we announced £240 million of bilateral assistance this year for Ukraine's humanitarian, early recovery and reform needs. FCDO's Civilian Stabilisation Group already provides rapidly deployable specialist conflict expertise to target priority conflicts.

Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Submarines

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department expects service costs for the nuclear deterrent to remain at six per cent.

James Cartlidge: The six percent figure was calculated for the Defence White Paper “The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent” in December 2006. Due to restructuring of both the Submarine Enterprise and the Defence Nuclear Enterprise, an equivalent comparison is not available.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of extending the Reaper drone programme until Protector enters service.

James Cartlidge: The cost of extending the Reaper system until Protector enters service is £48.6 million. This is not an additional cost as it has been offset through utilising support funding previously allocated to the Protector programme for the same period.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2023 to Question 184580 on Unmanned Air Vehicles: Procurement, whether his Department plans to extend the service of Reaper drones until 2025.

James Cartlidge: On current plans Reaper will remain in service until 2025.

Poland: Guided Weapons

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release Record £1.9 billion UK-Poland missile export deal set to bolster European security, published on 28 April, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for collective security of that deal.

James Cartlidge: MBDA's export agreement announced on 28 April will see 22 Polish Air Defence batteries equipped with the UK's Common Anti-air Module Missiles (CAMM) and launchers. It is testament to the increasingly close bilateral defence and security relationship between the UK and Poland; the largest ever UK defence export to Poland and one of the biggest deals of its kind in NATO. It provides a significant enhancement to the short-range air defence capability of a key Ally on NATO's strategically important eastern flank, bolstering both Poland's and the Alliance's security.

Nuclear Submarines

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's estimated expenditure is for the defence nuclear enterprise (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of total departmental expenditure, in each year from 2023-24 to 2027-28.

James Cartlidge: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 June 2023, to Question 189997.Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons: Costs (docx, 22.5KB)

Nuclear Submarines

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to figure 3 of the report from the National Audit Office entitled The Defence Nuclear Enterprise: a landscape review, published on 22 May 2018, HC 1003, if he will publish a breakdown by programme of forecast expenditure for that Enterprise in 2023/24.

James Cartlidge: In collaboration with HM Treasury, the Ministry of Defence is in the process of establishing a definition of the nuclear enterprise for reporting purposes that will encompass the majority of the Ministry of Defence nuclear spend. This spend will form a separate line in the department’s Supply Estimates.

Army Reserve

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of differences between the pension entitlements of reservists in the Army and reservists in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force on retention levels in the Army Reserves.

Dr Andrew Murrison: All Reserve Forces in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force who joined from 1 April 2015 are members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) 15. Pension entitlements are one of a variety of financial incentives offered by the Department to attract and retain Reservists. Other Departmental financial incentives include a daily pay rate, which increases as Reservists rise through the ranks, paid leave, and an additional annual tax-free bounty received on achieving criteria. The Department regularly re-evaluates the wider offer made to Reservists, identifying new ways to retain our talented Service people. Currently, for example, the Department is reviewing Reservist training and working to identify further operational opportunities.

Trident Submarines

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what sum from the contingency fund set aside to support the Dreadnought programme had been spent at the most recent date for which data are available.

James Cartlidge: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor (Alex Chalk) on 22 March 2023 to Question 168002 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey).Trident Submarines (docx, 22.3KB)

Watchkeeper WK450

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason some Watchkeeper unmanned aerial systems remain out of service.

James Cartlidge: All 46 Watchkeeper platforms within the Army’s fleet are currently in service. This number is split between a forward fleet held at readiness, platforms used for test and evaluation, and those held in the sustainment fleet.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will meet nuclear test veterans to discuss their concerns.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I or the Secretary of State for Defence will meet with nuclear test veterans to discuss their concerns.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of veterans who were involved in Britain’s nuclear testing programme in (a) Australia, (b) the South Pacific and (c) elsewhere between 1952 and 1967 who have been diagnosed as (i) being infertile and (ii) having fertility problems.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collect or hold data monitoring the fertility of veterans. Since 1948, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the National Health Service in England and the Devolved Administrations is responsible for healthcare provision for veterans.The MOD does hold War Disablement Pension files which are created when an individual is either medically discharged or submits a claim under the War Pension Scheme. These can contain discharge information, medical reports, service record documentation and various administrative papers. Case papers, for example additional medical reports and claims, are then added to the file when received. However, the information within these individual paper files is not stored centrally.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the Government (a) issuing an official apology and (b) providing compensation to Britain's nuclear test veterans.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Government continues to recognise and be grateful to all Service personnel who participated in the British Nuclear testing programme. They contributed to keeping our nation secure during the Cold War and since, by ensuring that the UK was equipped with an appropriate nuclear capability A commemorative Nuclear Test Medal was announced by the Prime Minister in November 2022, to recognise Service veterans and civilian personnel who participated in the UK’s atmospheric nuclear test programme between 1952 and 1967. Since the 1980’s, the Ministry of Defence has commissioned and published four independently-conducted and analysed longitudinal studies of 20,000 Nuclear Test Veterans. These compared cancer and mortality rates between Nuclear Test Veterans and age- and gender-matched contemporary control groups, both within the UK Armed Forces and the general population. The results of these studies have consistently demonstrated that cancer and mortality rates for the Nuclear Test Veterans are similar to those serving contemporaneously in the UK Armed Forces who did not participate in the testing programme, and lower than for the general population. Any veteran, including those of the Nuclear Tests, who believes they have suffered ill-health due to service has the right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pension Scheme if they served before 6 April 2005. War pensions are payable in respect of illness or injury as a result of service in the Armed Forces, with the benefit of reasonable doubt always given to the claimant. Decisions are medically certified and follow consideration of available service and medical evidence and carry full rights of appeal to an independent Tribunal.

Ministry of Defence: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2022 to Question 102720 on Armed Forces: Disability, what progress his Department has made towards meeting its target of bringing 15.3 per cent more disabled people into the civilian workforce by 2030.

Dr Andrew Murrison: One of the Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s commitments in the National Disability Strategy is to publish a plan to increase the disabled civilian workforce to 15.3% by 2030. Implementation of this plan is currently ongoing.   As of 1 April 2023, 11.9% of MOD main civilian personnel have declared a disability, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared with 1 April 2022. Meanwhile, we continue our work as a Disability Confident Leader, ensuring our disabled colleagues are valued and supported, and that workplace adjustments are made in a timely manner.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he has taken to support people that are unsuccessful in their claims to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme a claimant can ask the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to reconsider its decision. If the claimant remains dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision they can appeal to the independent Tribunal. The Veterans Welfare Service (VWS) helps veterans with form completion for MOD administered schemes and provides bespoke advice and assistance following a holistic assessment of need which is tailored to each individual's specific circumstances. Where financial assistance is required by veterans the VWS can assist with benefits checks, completion of application forms and signposting to entitlements and support available from the wider public and voluntary sectors.

Armed Forces: Length of Service

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length of service in the British Armed Forces was for personnel who departed the services in each of the last 10 years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Members question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Empty Property

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of (a) current and (b) former houses owned by his Department were unoccupied in May 2023; and what was the cost to the public purse of maintaining empty houses owned by his Department in the (i) 2020-21, (ii) 2021-22 and (iii) 2022-23 financial years.

James Cartlidge: The vast majority of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) is leased from Annington Homes Ltd (AHL). Any properties no longer required for Service personnel are handed back to AHL. The number of unoccupied (void) SFA properties in May 2023, was 9,167 or 19.18% of the c.47,800 total SFA housing stock in the UK. The total void maintenance costs for the four Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) accommodation contracts covering the North, Central, South East and South West regions for Financial Year 2022-23 was £5,902,941. This maintenance cost was for a total of 9,571 void properties at that time. The Department is only able to provide the cost of maintaining void SFA for the FDIS accommodation contracts which came into force in April 2022. Under the previous National Housing Prime contract, there was no contractual requirement to record maintenance cost data by occupied and void SFA. This was rectified for the FDIS contracts.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Members: Correspondence

Sir Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to reply to the correspondence of 24 May 2023 from the Rt. hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby on the time taken to complete full checks on EU SPS imports and on the EU’s Entry/Exit System and Short Strait agrifood flows.

Mark Spencer: A reply was sent the hon. Member on 21 June 2023.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to reply to the correspondence of 26 April 2023 from the Rt hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby on Supplementary Estimate 2022/23 and Post-Implementation Reviews.

Mark Spencer: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 21 June 2023.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to reply to the correspondence of 26 April 2023 from the Rt Hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby on supermarket profits, food security and other issues.

Mark Spencer: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 21 June 2023.

Crops: Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support research into crop protection for crops of national and international importance.

Mark Spencer: Defra has invested over £8.2 million between 2018 and 2024 on Genetic Improvement Networks on nationally and internationally important crops including wheat, oilseed rape, pulses and vegetable crops in research identifying genetic traits to improve their productivity, sustainability, resilience and nutritional quality. We are working with breeders to incorporate these traits into elite UK crop varieties. In May the Government announced additional investment in genetic improvement of up to £30 million to unlock the potential of precision breeding technologies. We have also committed over £104 million to date through the £270 million Farming Innovation Programme for industry-led research and development in agriculture and horticulture in England. This investment is enabling more farmers, growers and agri-food businesses to become involved in agricultural R&D. This will maximise the impact of R&D investment in innovation and improve the take up of novel approaches on farms. UK Research and Innovation also has a longstanding strategic priority on Sustainable Agriculture and Food (averaging £139 million per year), supporting critical ‘underpinning’ research and capability/skills development in plant science, pest and pathogen biology. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s recently announced Institute Strategic Programme includes ‘Building Robustness in Crops’, ‘Advancing Plant Health’, and ‘Delivering Sustainable Wheat’, which are all seeking to tackle strategic challenges in agriculture over the next five-year period.

Drugs: Packaging

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,if she will (a) make it his policy to require local authorities to provide blister pack recycling services and (b) issue guidance to local authorities on blister pack recycling.

Rebecca Pow: Following support at public consultation, the Environment Act 2021 introduced new requirements for all local authorities in England to make arrangements for a core set of materials to be collected for recycling from all households: paper and card; plastic; glass; metal; food waste and garden waste. In 2021 we consulted on the detail of this policy, including implementation dates and materials in scope of collection – we will publish a consultation response shortly. Regarding blister packs, these are difficult to recycle due to the mix of different materials they are made from and, as such, tend not to be collected through kerbside recycling services. Take-back recycling schemes, such as the Terracycle scheme, can accept more complex packaging materials at dedicated recycling facilities. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging will provide a strong financial incentive for businesses to make better, more sustainable decisions in their design and use of packaging, and to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of the packaging they use. As part of this policy producers of hard to recycle packaging, such as medical blister packs, who take back this packaging and have it recycled, will be eligible for a discount on their EPR disposal cost fees.

Sewage: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many sewage releases there have been in (a) York and (b) York Central constituency in each of the last 12 months.

Rebecca Pow: Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) provides information on when and for how long sewage discharges have occurred. All EDM data is published online annually since 2020. The 2022 data was published in March 2023.

Clothing: Waste

Ben Everitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to tackle waste generated by the consumption of fast fashion.

Rebecca Pow: The Government’s 2018 Resources & Waste Strategy for England identified textiles, which includes waste generated by the consumption of fast fashion, as a priority sector for action. Our ambitions to minimise textile waste will be outlined in the upcoming document Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste, which constitutes a new Waste Prevention Programme for England. We expect to publish this in summer 2023.

Deposit Return Schemes: Glass

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2023 to Question 187143 on Deposit Return Schemes: Glass, whether her Department plans to give (a) glass and (b) PET bottles the same recycling target under the Extended Producer Responsibility as the 90 per cent target given to other materials under the proposed Deposit Return Scheme in England and Northern Ireland.

Rebecca Pow: We are working on the recycling targets for each packaging material as part of work to finalise our plans for Extended Producer Responsibility. The individual recycling targets for each material will be set to achieve our environmental ambitions taking into account the specific issues and challenges associated with each material.

Deposit Return Schemes: Glass

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2023 to Question 184463 on Glass: Deposit Return Schemes, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of excluding glass from the proposed Deposit Return Scheme in England and Northern Ireland on the (a) plastic and (b) aluminium packaging industry.

Rebecca Pow: Businesses have been clear that adding glass to a deposit return scheme will add fundamental complexity for our pubs and restaurants, increase burdens on small businesses, whilst creating greater inconvenience for consumers. We recognise that some sectors are concerned about potential for material switching. However, there are many market forces acting in this space - predicting impacts is very hard. Importantly glass will be included in Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging where obligated producers will be responsible for the disposal costs of their packaging so there will be some balancing of incentives.

Glass: Recycling

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to increase glass recycling rates following the exclusion of glass in the proposed Deposit Return Scheme in England and Northern Ireland.

Rebecca Pow: In England and Northern Ireland glass drinks bottles will remain in scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging scheme as will all other types of glass packaging placed on the market in all nations. EPR will place recycling targets on producers in relation to glass packaging and require relevant obligated producers to cover the costs of collecting and managing glass packaging arising in household waste and discarded in street bins managed by local authorities. In our 2022 response to the 2021 EPR consultation the Government set out recycling targets for 2025 and 2030, including glass. These included glass drinks containers in England and Northern Ireland.

Sewage: Drugs

Sir Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of levels of drugs contained in sewage discharges entering (a) rivers and (b) coastal waters; and if she will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency is responsible for monitoring chemicals in the water environment in England. This includes drugs that are typically associated with discharges of treated waste water, including pharmaceuticals, substances used in personal care products and veterinary medicines. Data can be found at: Defra Data Services Platform.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Data Protection

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure of 14 June 2023 at Topical Questions, T7, Official Report, column 286, what plans her Department has to (a) utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill and (b) use smart data in new sectors.

Mark Spencer: Defra is tracking the passage of the Bill closely and was consulted during the drafting process. We recognise that there is exciting potential to explore Smart Data in further sectors, beyond Open Banking. Government, regulators and industry experts are working together via the Smart Data Council to ensure that the UK continues to be at the forefront of developments in this area. Before committing to use the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No.2) Bill in any given sector, there is work to be done to understand how Smart Data can best empower consumers and increase competition. Once the Bill is law, we will also look in further depth at the implications and opportunities for Defra’s own data use and sharing, working with other Government departments where appropriate.

Seafood: Standards

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to address concerns raised by (a) On The Hook and (b) other campaigns on the adequacy of standards set by seafood sustainability certification schemes.

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK consumers can rely on the information provided by seafood certification schemes.

Mark Spencer: Defra has made no assessment of the standards set by seafood certification schemes, which are voluntary and operate independently of Government. The Government remains fully committed to sustainable fishing, and Fisheries Management Plans will be a key tool through which we will work with industry to improve the sustainability and management of our fisheries.

Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2023 to Question 187162 on Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, by what other means her Department plans to take forward measures in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill individually.

Mark Spencer: On 20 June 2023 we launched a consultation on the proposed licensing scheme for private primate keepers in England and the draft standards for care and management of primates. We will be taking forward other measures in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill individually through other means during the remainder of this Parliament. This will be a combination of legislative and non-legislative approaches where appropriate. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has culled badgers on land owned by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

Mark Spencer: Culling is carried out by cull companies under licence from Natural England; culling is not carried out by Defra. For security reasons we do not comment on specific locations. Note that cull companies can only cull on land with the landowner’s permission.

Climate Change

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help prevent global warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2027.

Trudy Harrison: In March 2023, government published the Net Zero Growth Plan which sets out how the UK will contribute towards global efforts to keep within 1.5 degrees of warming. Our transition to a green and sustainable future will provide new opportunities to grow and level up the UK economy and support hundreds of thousands of green, high skilled jobs, whilst ensuring the environment is in a better state for the next generation. The UK cannot achieve our climate and nature objectives alone and that is why we have also published The Strategic Framework 2030 for international climate and nature action, as well as our International Climate Finance Strategy, which set out the actions the UK will take to support climate and nature action across the world. I have regular contact with my Cabinet colleagues to discuss climate change, including sitting on The Domestic and Economic Affairs (Energy, Climate and Net Zero) Cabinet Committee. This and supporting governance structures ensure that there is ongoing focus on implementation of our domestic and international net zero ambitions.

Farmers: Cost of Living

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support farmers with increases in living costs.

Mark Spencer: Farmers are eligible to the same support as any other member of the public. The Government recognises the challenges facing households due to elevated costs of living, so has taken action so has taken action at Spring Budget 2023 to go further to protect struggling families. The Government extended energy support by keeping the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 for three months from April, saving households an additional £160, bringing total Government support for energy bills to £1,500 for a typical household since October 2022. Alongside this, further steps are being taken by the Government to support households with the rising cost of living by ending the premium paid by over 4 million households using prepayment meters across the UK, introducing 30 hours of free childcare per week for working parents with children aged 9 months up to 3 years in England alongside a substantial uplift to the hourly rate paid to providers and market reforms, cancelling the planned increase in fuel duty and keeping rates at current levels for the next 12 months, and increasing Draught Relief. This is in addition to the benefits uprating and support for vulnerable households announced at the Autumn Statement, which included new Cost of Living Payments in 2023-24, helping more than 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, 8 million pensioner households and 6 million people across the UK on eligible disability benefits. The Government also announced at the Autumn Statement additional support to help with the cost ofrtgar household essentials, through the Household Support Fund in England. Taken together, support to households to help with higher bills is worth £94 billion, or £3,300 per household on average, across 2022-23 and 2023-24 – one of the largest in Europe. The Government’s successful economic strategy will provide further help. The Bank of England forecast that inflation will fall to 5.1% by the end of 2023, before falling close to target by the end of 2024. Hard-working people are the backbone of our economy. That is why last year the Government increased the national insurance starting threshold by £2,690, taking around 2.2 million working people out of paying national insurance. It is now possible to earn over £12,500 a year without paying any tax or national insurance.  While the Government has prioritised Cost of Living support for those most in need ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way, significant universal support has been made available, for example through the Energy Price Guarantee. As we move away from the EU’s bureaucratic Common Agricultural Policy towards a new system of rural payments, the Government recognises that the Agricultural Transition will create challenges for some farming businesses. To support these changes, and to give farmers the best chance of benefiting from our reforms, we are providing support to build resilience during the early years of the transition. The Future Farming Resilience Fund is designed to provide free business support to up to 32,000 farmers and land managers in England during the early years of the agricultural transition (until 2025). Initial feedback from participants indicates that the support on offer has helped them identify alternative options to increase income and/or reduce costs and diversify activities and income streams and consider options for succession planning.One of the key required outcomes for Resilience Fund is that farmers’ mental health and wellbeing are supported. Some delivery providers are offering this support from in-house experts and others are signposting support available from external expert services. We have worked with the Yellow Wellies charity, to provide advice and information on how to identify potential mental health issues and provide tools for addressing them. In addition, the Prime Minister set out a new package of support for farmers to help strengthen the long-term resilience and sustainability of the sector and provide greater stability for farmers following a difficult period caused by global challenges. Many farmers have also already applied for £168 million of grant funding available this year to support investments in productivity, animal health and welfare and the environment.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Disability

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of her Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.

Trudy Harrison: In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS) was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations. The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs had the following commitments included in the National Disability Strategy:make the England Coast Path as easy to use as possible for disabled people – all stretches of the England Coast Path will be open or with establishment works underway by the end of 2021, unless there are ongoing planning or legal issuescreate a new north coast to coast National Trail from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire by 2025improve access, signage and information on existing national paths and trailsdeliver a £5.77 million investment in green social prescribing, which will benefit disabled peopleimplement the 25 Year Environment Plan, ensuring nature is accessible to everyone Work on the King Charles III England Coast Path is progressing with over 850 miles now open to the public. At 2,700 miles, when complete it will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world. We are making the King Charles III England Coast Path as accessible as possible and have recently approved proposals that have included a brand-new wheelchair-friendly ramp to a popular seawall walkway in Essex, a 600m accessible boardwalk on the Wirral and significant improvements to a well-used stretch of the South West Coast Path which will improve the width, surface quality and gradient of the existing trail. We are continuing work designating Wainwright’s existing coast to coast path across the North of England as a new National Trail by 2025. Our Access for All programme has committed £14.5m of funding to make targeted access improvements in our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside, to help bring the benefits of spending time in nature to everyone. More than £3.5m has already been spent on making our protected landscapes more accessible, including on: resurfacing paths; replacement of stiles with accessible gates; new benches and resting stops; accessible viewing platforms and the provision of new all-terrain trampers to support disabled people to access the countryside. The Government has extended its Farming in Protected Landscapes programme to improve accessibility in our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including installing interpretation panels, replacing gates and stiles to improve access for people who use wheelchairs. The Green Social Prescribing programme which closed in March 2023 achieved over 7,000 referrals to nature-based activities over the course of the programme, and the evidence suggests that the programme has had a very strong service take-up compared with traditional mental health support services. We are committed to supporting the scale-up of green social prescribing across England, as confirmed in our Environmental Improvement Plan. We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people in the UK through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support this, the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve disabled people’s lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due for publication in the summer.Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will place a copy in the House Library.

Domestic Waste: Recycling

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department taking to ensure that households have adequate access to recycling facilities.

Rebecca Pow: This Government is committed to ensuring residents are able to dispose of their waste for recycling in a convenient and responsible manner. As part of this commitment, Government has announced this past Sunday that householders across England will no longer be charged to dispose of DIY construction waste at Household Waste Recycling Centres. The legislative changes will be brought into force later this year.

Marine Protected Areas

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce a spatial and holistic marine planning system to (a) increase the protection and (b) aid the recovery of Marine Protected Areas and to ensure that the UK's seas are well managed.

Trudy Harrison: Marine planning is a devolved function. This answer refers to the approach in England. The Government already has a comprehensive marine planning system. The aim is to manage competing demands in English seas in a balanced and integrated way, including management of Marine Protected Area (MPA). We have also established a cross-government Marine Spatial Prioritisation (MSPri) programme in England to respond to the growing spatial challenges in our seas, including supporting the protection and recovery of the marine environment. The programme will help build our understanding of future demands and how we can best optimise use and environmental protection of our seas.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Artificial Intelligence

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Government's publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.

Mark Spencer: The AI White Paper emphasised the importance of ensuring that UK regulators and public bodies have the capacity, expertise, and capabilities to implement government’s pro-innovation approach whilst recognising and understanding the risks. This is particularly true for those regulators for which AI falls squarely within their regulatory remit, but also applies to a much wider range of public and regulatory bodies considering the implications AI has across the economy. Artificial intelligence offers undoubted opportunities across a wide range of Defra sectors, and is increasingly being considered for practical use. AI is currently included within teams working on broader issues, such as technology and innovation. As future opportunities are identified we expect that the department will allocate further resources to support appropriate use of AI across our areas of policy responsibility. As part of the AI regulation White Paper consultation, we are engaging closely with regulators across the wider landscape and their sponsoring government departments to understand the organisational capacity they need to regulate AI effectively, across technical, regulatory, and market-specific expertise. This will inform our work to develop policy options with a view to addressing any gaps that emerge.

Dangerous Dogs

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to publish an assessment of the effectiveness of public space protection orders for preventing dangerous dog attacks.

Trudy Harrison: We are working in partnership with the police, local authorities and animal welfare organisations to ensure that the full range of existing dog control powers are effectively applied to encourage responsible dog ownership and reduce the risk of dog attacks. Conclusions from this work are expected later this year. We currently have no plans to publish a formal assessment of the effectiveness of public space protection orders for preventing dangerous dog attacks.

Dangerous Dogs

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dangerous dog attacks there were in each region in each year since 2013.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dangerous dog attacks on (a) other dogs and (b) cats there have been in each year since 2013.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many American Bully XL dogs were seized in 2022.

Trudy Harrison: Defra does not hold this information. Information regarding dangerous dogs offences will be held by individual local authorities and police forces.   More widely, we are working in partnership with the police, local authorities and animal welfare organisations to ensure that the full range of existing dog control powers are effectively applied to encourage responsible dog ownership and reduce the risk of dog attacks. As part of this, we are considering ways in which the collection and reporting of data relating to dog control incidents could be improved to inform prevention strategies. Conclusions from this work are expected later this year.

Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to what timescale her Department is working to bring forwards measures from the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill through other legislative means.

Mark Spencer: On 20 June 2023 we launched a consultation on the proposed licensing scheme for private primate keepers in England and the draft standards for care and management of primates. We will be taking forward other measures in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill individually through other means during the remainder of this Parliament. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way.

Horticulture: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support research and development in the ornamental horticulture sector.

Mark Spencer: The Government recognises the importance of the ornamental horticultural sector, with domestic production of ornamentals being worth £1.5 billion at farm-gate in 2022. Industry-led research and development is key to enabling the development of real-world solutions to the challenges being faced by farmers and growers and also to exploiting new opportunities open to them. We have recognised strengths in bio-science, cutting-edge technology and research, with world leading institutes and pioneering farmers, and our £270 million Farming Innovation Programme is supporting industry-led research and development in agriculture and horticulture in England. The ornamental sector is in scope of this programme.

Industry: Odour Pollution

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of powers available to (a) local authorities and (b) the Environment Agency to deal with prolonged industrial odours.

Rebecca Pow: Owners of industrial, trade and business premises are expected to use the best practicable means available to reduce odours, effluvia and other potential sources of statutory nuisance emanating from their place of work in the first place. If this is not happening, then local authorities have powers through the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to investigate and issue abatement notices to stop the problem from re-occurring if they determine a statutory nuisance exists. For industrial installations, the Environment Agency and local authorities currently regulate odour pollution through conditions in environmental permits. Operators of these sites have to use appropriate measures or best available techniques (BAT or UKBAT where it exists) to develop management controls to prevent or, where that is not possible, to reduce them. The Environment Agency uses permitting and enforcement tools to tackle odour pollution from the sites it regulates. These are used on a sliding scale ranging from advice and guidance to criminal prosecutions for serious pollution incidents, principally through powers from the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. The Government considers the current legislation provides the Environment Agency and local authorities with the necessary powers to deal with these types of issues. The Environment Agency has an ongoing remit to review odour pollution measures and performance from the industrial sites that it regulates.

Deep Sea Mining

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has been made of the impact of deep-sea mining on the UN Convention on Biological Diversity target to protect 30 per cent of the world's oceans by 2030.

Trudy Harrison: The UK is a global leader in protecting the ocean and our marine life and works with stakeholders in the UK and partners overseas to help achieve these aims. The Blue Belt Programme continues to support the British Overseas Territories to enhance marine protection and sustainable management. We also continue to help developing countries around the world to protect their marine environments to the benefit of people and livelihoods through our £500 million Blue Planet Fund. And as Ocean co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and chair of the Global Ocean Alliance, a group of 75 countries, the UK is committed to the target to conserve and manage at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030, a target agreed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. As a part of our support for strong multilateral action on the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and effective ocean governance across international forums, we will continue to push for the highest possible environmental standards in regulations developed at the International Seabed Authority, the international organisation through which States Parties organise and control deep-sea mining activities. This includes the need for Regional Environmental Management Plans to be in place before any future exploitation takes place.

Inland Waterways: Safety

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of installing more throw lines near waterways.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency encourages safe and responsible recreation on inland and coastal water and is responsible for safety on waterside assets it owns, operates or occupies (such as locks, weirs and bridges). The Environment Agency is required to assess and manage the risks to the public at these assets under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It undertakes a comprehensive programme of public safety risk assessments of those assets and regularly inspects them to ensure that the provided risk control measures are well maintained. It has published advice on how to stay safe while visiting waterways: www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-safe-around-water(opens in a new tab) and is also a member of the National Water Safety Forum. In most cases joined-up education and messaging on water safety is necessary. The process of regular public safety risk assessments identifies hazards associated with each asset, along with safety control measures to reduce the likelihood of anyone coming to harm. Typical control measures include barriers, signage, booms and rescue equipment, such as throwlines. The provision and decision-making process of throwlines versus other rescue equipment is also assessed in line with the location, effective deployment and recovery location. The Environment Agency’s representative on the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Water Safety group is contributing to the development of a decision tree for Public Rescue Equipment which will continually improve the process. A useful guide can be found here: https://www.rospa.com/leisure-water-safety/water/research/inland. We would anticipate that any professional undertaking with riparian responsibilities would undertake a similar risk assessment programme. The Environment Agency does not have a responsibility for setting any water safety policy, except in as much as it applies to its management of its own assets. Employers whose work activity takes place close to open water are required under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to take steps to prevent employees and other people from coming to harm due to their work activities. For example, a perimeter wall or fence around an irrigation reservoir or slurry pit will help to control risks. Where open access to water is encouraged for leisure purposes controls might, depending on the circumstances, include the provision of throwlines or other rescue devices, as part of a range of measures. Much of the open water throughout Great Britain while often used for recreational purposes, is not associated with ongoing work activity, meaning the Health and Safety at work etc Act 1974 does not apply.

Inland Waterways: Biodiversity

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to conserve biodiversity in canals.

Trudy Harrison: We recognise that the inland waterways across England and Wales are an important national asset forming an important part of our natural environment by providing green and blue corridors along which biodiversity can flourish. We are committed to recovering nature, including restoring our freshwater habitats, which is why we have now set four legally binding targets for biodiversity. By 2030 we have committed to halt the decline in species abundance and by 2042 we aim to reverse species decline; to reduce the risk of species extinction; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats. Action towards these targets will drive essential improvements to our freshwater habitats. Defra is committed to improve at least 75% of our waters to as ‘close to their natural state’ as soon as is practicable, set out in the EIP. In April we published our Integrated Plan for Delivering Clean and Plentiful Water. The actions in the plan aim to restore all types surface waters, for example, river, lakes and canals.

Agriculture: Water

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies on a fully integrated, multi-sector, catchment based approach to water systems planning of the conclusions of the report by the National Farmers Union Integrated Water Management published in January 2021.

Rebecca Pow: In April we published our Plan for Water, which sets out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply. The Plan set out how we will take a systematic, local, catchment-based approach, in a coordinated and collaborative way to improve water management. The Environment Agency and Defra are working closely with the agricultural sector on water resource management, water quality and flooding issues via multi-sector groups. For example, we are also supporting the creation of water resources management plans for agriculture, that will inform local catchment and wider regional water resources plans on our future water needs and help farmers improve drought resilience. We will also support farmer-led groups to identify local water resource schemes building on the success of projects like Felixstowe Hydrocycle.

Ministry of Justice

Victims: Criminal Proceedings

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the treatment of victims in the criminal justice system.

Edward Argar: The Victims Funding Strategy was published in May 2022. It set out a framework which will improve the way we fund victim support services across government, seeking to better align and co-ordinate funding to enable victims to receive the support they need.In 2018 we published the first ever cross-government Victims Strategy. This clarified the specific support victims can expect, beginning immediately after a crime and ending long after court proceedings.It also committed to first consult on a revised Victims’ Code before bringing forward proposals for a Victims Law, including strengthening compliance with the Code.A new Victims’ Code was published in 2021. The Code was restructured into 12 key entitlements in a way which is clear, concise and easy to understand, outlining the minimum levels of service victims can expect at each stage of the criminal justice process.Additional entitlements for victims in the Code include increased communication between victims and the CPS and promoting the use of Community Impact Statements.On 29 March, we introduced the Victims and Prisoners Bill to Parliament, to improve victims' experiences of the criminal justice system, strengthen the parole system to ensure that the public and victims are better protected, and prohibit whole life prisoners from marrying or forming civil partnerships to drive up confidence in the justice system.These changes for victims have been accompanied by a greater investment in victims’ services. We are more than quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10.

Victims: Criminal Proceedings

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support victims in the criminal justice system.

Edward Argar: The Victims Funding Strategy was published in May 2022. It set out a framework which will improve the way we fund victim support services across government, seeking to better align and co-ordinate funding to enable victims to receive the support they need.In 2018 we published the first ever cross-government Victims Strategy. This clarified the specific support victims can expect, beginning immediately after a crime and ending long after court proceedings.It also committed to first consult on a revised Victims’ Code before bringing forward proposals for a Victims Law, including strengthening compliance with the Code.A new Victims’ Code was published in 2021. The Code was restructured into 12 key entitlements in a way which is clear, concise and easy to understand, outlining the minimum levels of service victims can expect at each stage of the criminal justice process.Additional entitlements for victims in the Code include increased communication between victims and the CPS and promoting the use of Community Impact Statements.On 29 March, we introduced the Victims and Prisoners Bill to Parliament, to improve victims' experiences of the criminal justice system, strengthen the parole system to ensure that the public and victims are better protected, and prohibit whole life prisoners from marrying or forming civil partnerships to drive up confidence in the justice system.These changes for victims have been accompanied by a greater investment in victims’ services. We are more than quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10.

Reparation by Offenders

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has taken recent steps to increase the use of restorative justice.

Edward Argar: Restorative justice is a valuable approach, but it is not appropriate in all cases. The welfare and safety of the victim is paramount, so restorative justice will only occur where it is safe and appropriate, and both the victim and the offender consent.In the right cases restorative justice can have a powerful impact on victims and reduce reoffending too.HMPPS has published an operational framework on restorative justice to support its use in suitable cases and ensure consistent referral processes between PCCs, prisons and probation.

Knives: Crime

Anna Firth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking through the criminal justice system to tackle knife crime.

Edward Argar: Tackling knife crime remains a priority and this Government will continue to do all it can to break the deadly cycle of violence that devastates the lives of individuals, families and communities.We have taken significant action to both prevent and respond to crimes involving weapons through the Serious Violence Strategy, the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 and increased stop and search powers.We have recently consulted on further measures to tackle this issue.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much offshore investment has been allocated to firms in (a) Teesside Combined Mayoral Authority area, (b) North of Tyne Combined Mayoral Authority area and (c) Wales.

Graham Stuart: In the Teesside Combined Mayoral Authority, grants from the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (OWMIS) fund totalling £37 million supported South Tees Development Corporation’s Teesworks Offshore Manufacturing Centre and SeAH Wind’s monopile foundation facility. In the North of Tyne Combined Mayoral Authority, OMWIS fund grants totalling £21 million supported Smulders to enable the manufacture of transition pieces at their facility and JDR Cables to build a subsea cable factory. No OWMIS grants have been allocated to firms based in Wales.

Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent progress he has made on each project funded through the offshore wind manufacturing investment support scheme; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing private investment into those projects.

Graham Stuart: All projects funded through the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme are on track to meet the milestones agreed through the scheme. The grants for three manufacturing facilities, provided to SeAH Wind, JDR Cables and Smulders, are expected to leverage over £600 million of private investment.

Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding his Department has allocated to (a) Port of Sunderland, (b) Teesport, (c) Port of Tyne, (d) Port of Blyth, (e) Port of Hull, (f) Port of Grimsby and (g) Port of Immingham through the offshore wind manufacturing investment support scheme since its introduction.

Graham Stuart: None of the listed ports received funding through the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme fund.

Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, to which (a) businesses and (b) locations his Department provided funding through the Offshore wind manufacturing investment support scheme.

Graham Stuart: Through the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme fund, SeAH Wind received £17 million to build an XXL monopile foundation manufacturing facility in Teesside; JDR Cable Systems received £14 million to build a subsea cable factory in Northumberland; Smulders received £7 million to enable the manufacture of transition pieces at their facility in Wallsend and South Tees Development Corporation received £20 million for work at the Teesworks Offshore Manufacturing Centre.

Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what funding has not been allocated from the 2021 offshore wind manufacturing investment.

Graham Stuart: £58 million of the £160 million Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme budget was committed.

Energy: Housing

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a national retrofit strategy on the Government's ability to (a) reduce energy bills and carbon emissions and (b) increase private investment.

Graham Stuart: The Heat and Building Strategy sets out the actions the Government is taking to reduce carbon emissions from buildings in the near term and provides a long-term framework to enable industry investment and deliver the transition to low-carbon heating. The Government has also established the Energy Efficiency Taskforce, which aims to reduce the UK’s final energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030 against 2021 levels. The Taskforce will deliver this by stimulating private investment and increasing green finance options, galvanising supply chains and increasing public and business engagement with energy efficiency. £6 billion of government funding will be available from 2025 to support this objective, in addition to the £6.6 billion allocated in this Parliament.

Electricity and Natural Gas: Prices

Jack Brereton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to decouple (a) domestic and (b) commercial electricity prices from wholesale gas prices; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: As part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, the Government is considering a range of potential options to shield both domestic and non-domestic consumers from their impacts of potential future commodity price spikes and to ensure they benefit from lower cost renewables. The CfD scheme already insulates consumers against electricity price spikes. Over time this scheme will reduce dependence on fossil fuelled power generation, lowering consumer exposure to gas prices.

National Grid

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of accelerating work on local energy governance and planning arrangements to deliver investment to the energy grid where it is most needed.

Andrew Bowie: The Government recognises the potential benefits of enabling more local energy planning to support efficient and strategic investment in the electricity distribution network. We are working closely with Ofgem to consider this in more detail as part of their ongoing governance review into local energy institutions and its proposals on regional energy system planning. Whilst we recognise the potential opportunities around local energy plans, it is vital that any approach endorsed by government is considered carefully to ensure it is deliverable, cost-effective and aligned with wider policy.

National Grid: Renewable Energy

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy and equity of arrangements for managing grid connections to enable both large-scale renewable generation projects and (a) micro-generation, (b) low carbon housing developments and (c) other distribution-level projects to be connected.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions his Department has had with network operators on resolving connections queues at the distribution level.

Andrew Bowie: The Department is engaging with Ofgem and network companies to reduce connection timescales for all connection types and scales. As part of this, the Energy Networks Association and Electricity System Operator are taking action to improve the connection process for the distribution and transmission networks respectively, and Ofgem published an open letter on future reform to connections in May. I also recently co-chaired, with Ofgem, a roundtable discussion with network companies and industry stakeholders on accelerating connections. Building on this work, the Government and Ofgem will publish a joint action plan on accelerating connections this summer.

Boats: Insulation and Solar Power

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support is available for boaters without permanent moorings to help pay for solar panels and insulation.

Graham Stuart: The Government does not provide financial support for installing insulation or solar panels on houseboats. The Government is aiming to grow green finance options for consumers including by working with the new UK Infrastructure Bank to explore whether it can play a wider role in scaling up green home finance.

Heat Pumps: Rural Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will make an assessment of the financial impact of switching to heat pumps on rural (a) households and (b) businesses.

Graham Stuart: In late 2021 the Government consulted on proposals to phase out the installation of heating systems using high carbon fossil fuels in homes and non-domestic buildings off the gas grid in England during the 2020s. The impact assessments accompanying these consultations set out our estimates on the likely impacts to households and non-domestic buildings switching to clean heat under the measures proposed in the consultation.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department plans to respond to local authorities on their proposals to use unspent money that was distributed through the 2022-23 UK Shared Prosperity Fund in the 2023-24 financial year.

Dehenna Davison: The department will respond to local authorities shortly on their credible plans for unspent money from 2022-23.

Freeports

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what statutory and additional powers apply within Freeports to (a) law enforcement agencies, (b) trading standards officers, (c) HM Revenue and Customs and (d) the National Crime Agency.

Dehenna Davison: Freeport status in no way undermines or weakens existing port security arrangements. Special customs status - which builds on, rather than radically departing from, facilitations available elsewhere in the UK - is available only on specific 'customs sites' within the wider Freeport footprint. These are secure sites administered by a specially authorised 'Customs Site Operator' or CSO. More information on Freeports security requirements can be found in the Freeports Annual Report.

Housing Ombudsman Service: Complaints

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the Housing Ombudsman about complaint response times.

Dehenna Davison: The Department holds Accounting Officer meetings quarterly with the Ombudsman, where the focus is on tracking progress against performance indicators, including complaint handling times.Baroness Scott met Richard Blakeway in March.

Public Bodies: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of the provisions in the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill on (a) the Welsh Government, (b) Welsh Government funded public bodies and (c) Welsh local authorities and their freedom to not procure goods originating from Israeli settlements deemed to be illegal under international law.

Lee Rowley: The bill is designed to implement the Government’s manifesto commitment to "ban public bodies from imposing their own direct or indirect boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries”. As such, and to ensure a consistent foreign policy approach across the UK, the Bill applies to public bodies across the whole of the UK and therefore the Welsh Government, Welsh public bodies, and Welsh local authorities will be subject to the ban. Accordingly, we are seeking a legislative consent motion to apply the ban to Ministers of the Welsh Government.The Government’s position on the settlements in the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ and indeed the Middle East Peace Process more generally is unchanged.

Housing: Construction

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Future Homes Standard; and what his planned timeline is for implementing that Standard on new house build completions from 2025.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department expects to publish the (a) technical consultation and (b) draft impact assessment for the Future Homes Standard.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) adopting a transitional approach to implementing its Future Homes Standard and (b) allowing developments that receive planning permission by 2025 to build under earlier standards.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 180076 on 24 April 2023.

Derelict Land: Finance

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with Homes England of the use of funding from the Brownfield Land Release Fund for the Lodge Hill Junction scheme.

Rachel Maclean: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Help to Buy Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reasons Lenvi were appointed as the equity loan administrator for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Departments policy is on individuals with a Help to Buy Equity Loan purchasing a second property if the first property requires remediation for building safety faults.

Rachel Maclean: Following a competitive tender at the end of our previous contract with Target, the service provision was awarded to Equinity Gateway Services, who have since rebranded to Lenvi, and who are international specialists in payments and technology-led services. Lenvi have now taken up provision of all Help to Buy customer service functions and will deliver service improvements for Help to Buy customers over the coming months.Help to Buy customers are required to pay off their equity loan if they wish to purchase another home, as they must not have interest in any other residential property whilst they have the equity loan. This is clearly set out in the homebuyers guide and Equity Mortgage Deed. If a customer would like to pay off their equity loan, they would first need to have their home professionally valued to ascertain its current market value.We recognise that those whose properties have building safety issues, such as unsafe exterior cladding, can present additional challenges in valuing. The process to get a valuation and redeem an equity loan for properties affected by cladding can be found on Lenvi, the loan administrator's, website. We are aware that some customers are having difficulties finding a valuer prepared to value their properties. We have been working with the Homes England and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to try to find ways to help customers.On December 6, the RICS published new valuation guidance for buildings 11 metres and above with cladding here. This guidance reflects the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act which confirmed that those at fault, not blameless leaseholders, will be the ones to pay to fix unsafe cladding; and the solutions in place to fix buildings 11m+.This new guidance will help to resolve difficulties in valuing properties where cladding is present.Our focus continues to be on helping customers to find a solution as quickly as possible, however we recognise that this has been difficult for a number of customers.

Housing: Construction

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to help increase the number of homes built by small and medium-sized housebuilders.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department is providing to small housebuilders.

Rachel Maclean: Small and medium-sized housebuilders (SME) are an indispensable part of our housebuilding sector and the Government wants to ensure more homes are built by SMEs developers.   Through our £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund (LUHBF) we are providing financial support to SMEs to help build c42,000 homes. We are also providing the sector with support through the £1 billion ENABLE Build Guarantee scheme and changes to the planning system through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will support SMEs to build by making the planning process easier to navigate, faster and more predictable.

Treasury

Energy: Prices

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to support households that did not receive support from the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Fund or the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Gareth Davies: The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) provided £400 to households with a domestic electricity meter. The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) provided £400 to around 900,000 households who were not supplied by a domestic electricity contract and who were unable to receive support automatically through EBSS. EBSS was operational until March 2023, and EBSS AF was open until 31 May 2023. To protect public funds against potentially fraudulent activity, the Government required people applying for EBBS AF to show proof of address, such as a tenancy agreement or a utility bill. The Government understands that some households may not have been able to provide this evidence, which meant they were not able to apply for EBBS AF. The Government is working to determine if there is a robust method for these households to provide proof of their sole residence, whilst protecting public funds, so that support can be made available.

Insolvency: York Central

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has he made of the impact of rises in the cost of living on the numbers of (a) businesses at risk of insolvency and (b) people in debt in York Central constituency; and what fiscal steps is he taking to support these (i) businesses and (ii) people.

Andrew Griffith: The government recognises the importance of supporting businesses and individuals during these challenging times. The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) provides all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills for 12 months from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. The government also announced further support at Spring Budget to protect struggling families: across 2022-23 and 2023-24, support to households to help with higher bills is worth £94 billion, or £3,300 per household on average – one of the largest in Europe. To help people in problem debt, the Government continues to maintain record levels of funding for the Money and Pensions Service to provide debt advice in England, bringing their debt advice budget to £92.7 million in 2023/24. Data from 2021 on the percentage of people needing debt advice in York Central is published by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). This can be found here: https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2021/09/30/need-for-debt-advice-2021-estimates-for-uk-constituencies-and-local-authorities/

Mortgages: Interest Rates

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of The Growth Plan 2022, published on 23 September 2022, on mortgage rates.

Andrew Griffith: The pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. However, we recognise this will be a concerning time for mortgage holders, particularly those who are due to come to the end of their existing deal in the immediate future. The Prime Minister has been clear, the best and most important way that we can keep costs and interest rates down for people is to halve inflation, and then return it to the 2% target. On Friday 23 June the Chancellor met with mortgage lenders, UK Finance and the FCA to discuss a new package of support for those who encounter problems keeping up with their mortgage payments. These commitments include an agreement permitting customers to switch to an interest only mortgage, or extend their mortgage term, for 6 months, after which they can switch back without a new affordability check or it affecting their credit score. Lenders also agreed borrowers won’t have their home repossessed within 12 months from their first missed payment without their consent or unless in exceptional circumstances.

Mortgages: Interest Rates

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of rising mortgage interest rates on the levels of household disposable income in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Andrew Griffith: The pricing and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. However, we recognise this will be a concerning time for all households with a mortgage, particularly those who are due to come to the end of their existing deal in the immediate future. The Prime Minister has been clear, the best and most important way that we can keep costs and interest rates down for people is to halve inflation, and then return it to the 2% target. On Friday 23 June the Chancellor met with mortgage lenders, UK Finance and the FCA to discuss a new package of support for those who encounter problems keeping up with their mortgage payments. These commitments include an agreement permitting customers to switch to an interest only mortgage, or extend their mortgage term, for 6 months, after which they can switch back without a new affordability check or it affecting their credit score. Lenders also agreed borrowers won’t have their home repossessed within 12 months from their first missed payment without their consent or unless in exceptional circumstances. If you are concerned about making your mortgage repayment, you must speak to your lender as soon as possible. Contacting them will not affect your credit score The Government has also already taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders. The Government also recognises the challenges facing households due to elevated costs of living, so has taken action at Spring Budget 2023 to go further to protect struggling families. Taken together, support to households to help with higher bills is worth £94 billion, or £3,300 per household on average, across 2022-23 and 2023-24 – one of the largest in Europe. The government’s successful economic strategy will provide further help. The Bank of England forecast that inflation will fall to 5.1% by the end of 2023, before falling close to target by the end of 2024.

Cost of Living: Debts

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the rising cost of living on the levels of household debt in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.

Andrew Griffith: The Government monitors personal debt levels by working closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as well as other stakeholders in the debt advice sector. The FCA conducts a biennial Financial Lives Survey which provides a comprehensive insight into the finances of the UK population. The latest results of their survey relating to financial resilience can be found in the link below: https://www.fca.org.uk/data/financial-lives-2022-early-survey-insights-vulnerability-financial-resilience MaPS monitors financial difficulty through an annual survey of 22,000 people. The results of MaPS’ latest Debt Need Survey were published on 25 January 2023. This includes a regional breakdown of how the need for debt advice changed since 2021. The summary of their findings can be found in the link below: https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2023/01/25/need-for-debt-advice-and-how-households-are-reacting-to-changes-in-the-cost-of-living/ MaPS have also published constituency-level debt advice need figures from 2021 which can be found in the link below: https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2021/09/30/need-for-debt-advice-2021-estimates-for-uk-constituencies-and-local-authorities/ MaPS is aiming to publish constituency-level debt advice need figures based on their 2022 survey later this year.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking on protection of the neuro rights of citizens.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to update employment legislation to protect workers from unauthorised access to their neuro-data.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to update consumer legislation to protect people from unauthorised access to their neuro-data.

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that (a) foreign states and (b) bad actors cannot access people's neuro-data.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Government welcomes the recent reports from the Regulatory Horizons Council and the Information Commissioner's Office, and agrees on the importance of appropriately protecting neurodata. The UK’s data regime already provides enhanced protection for personal neuro-data when it takes the form of biometric, genetic, or health data. The Government is keeping protections under review and will not hesitate to take action in future as needed.The Government is also actively monitoring threats to UK data, including neuro-data, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.

Mobile Phones: Competition

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of competition in the mobile network operator sector.

Sir John Whittingdale: Any proposal to merge mobile network operators needs to be looked at by the Competition and Market Authority (CMA). The government does not have a role in the review of mergers on competition grounds. It is the responsibility of CMA to assess the impact on consumers and competition in the market, with input from sectoral regulators.Strong competition in the UK mobile market has produced good outcomes for consumers and businesses to date, in terms of costs, choice and quality of service. UK prices for mobile services are some of the lowest in Europe. In addition to the four national mobile network operators (MNOs) (BT/EE, VMO2, Vodafone and Three), consumers and businesses can also buy services from mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). The UK MVNO market is strong, representing 27% of mobile subscribers in the market.Competition has encouraged the four MNOs to invest to extend and upgrade their networks. 4G coverage currently extends to 92% of the UK landmass from at least one MNO, and our Shared Rural Network programme will extend this to 95%. All four MNOs launched their 5G networks in 2019 and last year we met our ambition to deliver a basic 5G signal for the majority of the population by 2027 - 5 years early.Our recently published Wireless Infrastructure Strategy set out a new ambition for nationwide coverage of standalone (high-quality) 5G to all populated areas by 2030.

Members: Correspondence

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Stockport dated 31 May 2023.

Sir John Whittingdale: I can confirm that we have received your letter. The department aims to reply to correspondence within 20 working days.

Internet: Privacy

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will commission research on the implementation of laws on the right to be forgotten in European countries.

Sir John Whittingdale: Under the UK’s data protection legislation, people have the right to request organisations to erase their personal data, for example when its use is no longer necessary. The right to be forgotten is not absolute and organisations may refuse a request where they need to retain it, for example to comply with a legal obligation or for reasons of public interest in the area of public health. The UK’s legislation on the right to be forgotten is identical to the legislation which applies in EU countries under the EU GDPR. If a person is dissatisfied with the way that an organisation has considered their request for erasure, they can complain to the data protection regulator, which in the UK is the Information Commissioner’s Office.We have no plans to commission research on the implementation of laws on the right to be forgotten in European countries.

Mobile Broadband

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that users of mobile phones without internet access will continue to have access to telephone networks when (a) 2G and (b) 3G networks are switched off.

Sir John Whittingdale: We have set out our expectation that all mobile network operators should have switched off their 2G and 3G networks by 2033. This will free up spectrum for 5G and beyond and is an important part of the UK’s strategy to increase diversity in the telecoms supply chain, contributing to the nation’s security and resilience.The Government’s Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, published in April 2023, outlined our unwavering commitment to extending 4G coverage to 95% of the UK’s landmass, alongside setting out our ambition for the UK to have nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030.We welcome the fact that some operators have indicated they are likely to decommission their 2G/3G networks, particularly their 3G networks, earlier than 2033. We will continue to work with network operators to ensure a smooth transition that meets the needs of business users, ensuring that consumers, including vulnerable groups, are treated fairly and can continue to access the services they need.

Women and Equalities

Disability: Elections

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June to Question 186960 on Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund, whether she has received representations from disability advocacy groups on re-establishing the (a) Access to Elected Office Fund and (b) the EnAble Fund.

Stuart Andrew: This Government has received representations from a number of individuals and groups regarding the need for greater support for disabled people wishing to stand for elected office. This includes representations related to the provision of funding to support with reasonable adjustments. This Government is committed to increasing representation of disabled people in elected office. Earlier this year, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work wrote to political parties represented in the House of Commons to seek support in ensuring that disabled candidates and people in elected office have the support they require. The Government has been clear that the responsibility for supporting disabled candidates sits with political parties and that the EnAble Fund was an interim measure to give parties time to put their own support in place. Building on the experience of the Access to Elected Office fund and the EnAble fund, DLUHC with the Local Government Association launched a new scheme in April 2022, to support those seeking to become candidates in local elections.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Rugby: Finance

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the independent advisors appointed by Government will be able to take steps to help tackle financial issues at rugby union clubs.

Stuart Andrew: Rugby union clubs play an important role in local communities, and make an invaluable contribution to our sporting heritage and national life.However, the recent failures of several clubs have laid bare the challenges facing rugby union. That is why we have appointed two independent advisers to work alongside the RFU and PRL in their efforts to ensure the future sustainability of rugby union.The independent advisers will develop a set of recommendations for all stakeholders involved in the game, to secure rugby union’s immediate future and advise on its future direction.

Gambling: Young People

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help prevent addiction to gambling among young people.

Stuart Andrew: The Government recognises that it is particularly important to take steps to protect young people at risk of gambling harms and addiction.We recently published a white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005, and are working with the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to bring these measures into force as soon as possible, subject to further consultation where appropriate. The paper introduces a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected, including young people. These include strengthening the land-based age verification regime, especially around gaming machines in pubs, bringing society lotteries and football pools into line with the National Lottery by raising the minimum age to 18, and putting new expectations on operators to consider age as a potential factor in customer vulnerability.Over recent years, the Government has worked with the Gambling Commission and others on a range of measures to protect young people from gambling related harm. This includes tightening the age verification requirements for both land-based and online operators in 2019, and raising the minimum age to play the National Lottery to 18 and over in 2021. Last year the Committees of Advertising Practice updated advertising rules so that gambling adverts cannot have strong appeal to children even if they appeal more to adults.In addition to these regulatory changes, specific steps have been taken to prevent and treat gambling harm in young people. Since September 2020, teaching young people about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt, has been included in the curriculum for all schools under Health Education in all state-funded schools, alongside Relationships Education (primary) and Relationships and Sex Education (secondary). In 2019 the NHS young person gambling addiction service was also launched.

Television Channels: Minority Groups

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of the effectiveness of smaller TV channels in catering to (a) faith groups, (b) specific ethnic groups, (c) minority groups and (d) local audiences.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Government recognises the importance of a diverse broadcasting landscape for communities around the country, with hundreds of channels, large and small, catering to a wide range of audiences.The Government is committed to supporting a broadcasting sector that delivers for all audiences. On a local level, the BBC, local TV providers and commercial and community radio stations all play a crucial role in disseminating accurate news and local information, strengthening pride of place, reflecting the unique interests of the audiences that they serve, connecting communities, and helping to address social issues like loneliness and mental health.The Government also believes that it is important that the broadcasting industry – both on- and off-screen – is representative of the country in which we live. In this context, the Government recognises the editorial and operational independence of the broadcasting sector and understands the value of smaller channels and content that caters to specific audiences.The BBC also plays an important role in delivering this, and in the UK’s wider public service broadcasting ecosystem, with a mission to serve all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain.

Video Games

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the advanced screen and performance technology research facilities announced in the creative industries sector vision on video game development studios.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the create growth programme announced in the creative industries sector vision on video game development studios.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the funding for the UK games fund announced in the creative industries sector vision on the growth of video game development studios.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of UK Research and Innovation's (a) Convergent Screen Technologies And Performance in Realtime (CoSTAR), (b) Creative Catalyst and (c) creative industries clusters programme on support for UK video game development studios.

Sir John Whittingdale: The recently published Creative Industries Sector Vision sets out the Government’s ambition to maximise the potential of the creative industries. It details our plans to grow these industries by an extra £50bn and create a million extra jobs by 2030, and build a pipeline of talent and opportunity for young people through a Creative Careers Promise.The Sector Vision was developed in partnership by government and industry, and includes £77 million in new government spending on top of the £233 million of existing public funding since the 2021 Spending Review, including specific measures to support the UK’s thriving video game industry.The Sector Vision announced an additional £5 million investment in the UK Games Fund (UKGF), to provide content funding to high-potential UK games studios, allowing them to develop their intellectual property, boosting their ability to attract investment and reach their next stage of growth.The Create Growth Programme (CGP) supports a range of creative businesses, including video games companies. As a result of £10.9 million in additional funding announced in the Sector Vision, the CGP will be expanded to cover 12 English regions outside of London, supporting over 2,000 creative businesses to access private investment and scale up.The Sector Vision also announced an additional investment of at least £50 million in the next wave of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Creative Industries Clusters programme. This funding will be used to identify and support at least six new clusters specialising in creative subsectors, building on the existing nine clusters supported by this programme. One of the existing clusters includes InGAME, a research and development (R&D) centre for the video games industry led by Abertay University.The Convergent Screen Technologies and performance in Realtime (CoSTAR) will establish a new national R&D infrastructure for the next generation of screen and performance technologies, including virtual production.Additionally, over 200 creative companies across the UK have received a share of £10 million of innovation funding from the first round of Innovate UK’s Creative Catalyst programme. Of these projects, approximately 10% are innovation projects based directly with the UK games sector.

Members: Correspondence

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 31 May from the hon Member for Stockport on the merger between Three and Vodaphone.

Sir John Whittingdale: I can confirm that we received your letter. This letter was transferred to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology for a response, as this policy area is no longer the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport following the machinery of government changes announced on 7 February 2023.

Public Service Broadcasting: Advertising

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will conduct an impact assessment into the effect of the proposed changes to Ofcom’s rules governing the quantity and scheduling of television advertising on public service channels.

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has asked Ofcom to have regard to its statutory duty to maintain a plurality of television channels as part of its proposed revisions to the rules governing the quantity and scheduling of television advertising on public service channels.

Sir John Whittingdale: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 13 June 2023 to Questions 188295, 188296 and 188297.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Data Protection

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure of 14 June 2023 at Topical Questions, T7, Official Report, column 286, what plans her Department has to (a) utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill and (b) use smart data in new sectors.

Sir John Whittingdale: There is exciting potential to explore Smart Data in further sectors, beyond Open Banking. Government, regulators and industry experts are working together via the Smart Data Council to ensure that the UK continues to be at the forefront of developments in this space.The Smart Data Council was launched in April 2023, for regulators and government to coordinate future schemes and collaborate with industry. A Smart Data Challenge Prize is in development, which will aim to encourage innovation by identifying and developing cross-sector use cases.

Department for Transport

M6: Tolls

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will have discussions with Midland Expressway Ltd on seeking a review of its policy of charging recipients of higher rate Attendance Allowance for use of the M6 toll.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department for Transport has no contractual rights to intervene with Midland Expressway Ltd regarding toll rates under the terms of the concession agreement entered into between DfT and MEL dated 28th February 1992. Midland Expressway Ltd is a private entity; it would be inappropriate for the Secretary of State for Transport to seek to intervene on any aspect of tolling policy. The Department would be pleased to offer a meeting to discuss this further.

Port of London Authority: Regulation

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of giving the (a) Parliamentary Service and Health Ombudsman and (b) another regulatory body powers to regulate the Port of London Authority.

Mr Richard Holden: The department has considered including the Port of London Authority (PLA) within the remit of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The department does not view this as a sensible course of action at this time. The Ombudsman can investigate any action taken by, or on behalf, a government department or other authority to which the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 Act applies. Such “action” is in relation to the exercise of administrative functions of that department or authority. The PLA is not a government department, and it is not taking action on behalf of one. It is a self-funding trust port and not a public body in the sense that the other bodies regulated by the PHSO are. It and indeed all other UK ports are already regulated, primarily by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, but also by other bodies which includes, but are not limited to, the Marine Management Organization, local councils and the Financial Conduct Authority.

Manchester Metrolink

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to support the expansion of the Manchester Metrolink to (a) other areas of Salford, (b) Eccles and (c) Greater Manchester.

Mr Richard Holden: Mass transit is largely devolved in England. Mass transit expansion in Greater Manchester is the responsibility of the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).Through Greater Manchester’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) for 2022/23 to 2026/27, the Department for Transport has allocated £1.07 billion to the region for local transport schemes, which GMCA has brought forward.  GMCA can choose to develop mass transit proposals through CRSTS.

Blue Badge Scheme

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to review the potential merits of extending the length of time that Blue Badges can be issued for to people with permanent disabilities.

Mr Richard Holden: The legislation allows for badges to be issued with a three-year validity period. Local authority administrators already have the discretion to add a ‘not for reassessment’ marker to individual Blue Badge records, including for applicants with permanent disabilities, which can help to streamline the reapplication process in those cases.

High Speed 2 Line: Cheshire

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he made on the potential merits of future restrictions on salt mining in mid Cheshire in the context of the configuration of High Speed Rail 2.

Huw Merriman: On 3 March 2023, HS2 Ltd published a report ‘Crewe to Manchester: Understanding the Ground Risk across the Cheshire Plain’ which can be found on the gov.uk website. This document provides a review of ground conditions, associated risks, and mitigation measures in place across the Cheshire Plain. In addition, HS2 Ltd continue to engage with the operators of the Salt Industry infrastructure in Cheshire to ensure their safe continued operations during the construction and operation of the proposed scheme. The areas related to the HS2 route over the Cheshire Salts are covered by Safeguarding Directions which are an established planning tool used to protect land required by major infrastructure projects. They require Local Planning Authorities to consult with HS2 Ltd on any undetermined planning applications. Safeguarding is periodically reviewed and updated during the project to reflect up to date land requirements.

Railways: Bicycles

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) promote cyclists traveling by train, (b) encourage train operators to provide more capacity for cyclists and (c) improve communication from train operators about travelling with cycles on their services.

Huw Merriman: The Government is committed to improving integration between rail and other modes of transport to improve journeys for passengers. The long-term cycling and walking plan of July 2020 set out 33 actions to increase cycling and walking, including improving cycle rail integration and improving bike access on trains. Between 2012 and 2022, the Government provided over £40m to create new secure bike spaces at train stations, and additional supporting features such as CCTV, lighting, ramps and cycle repair stations. In 2021-22 this included £2 million funding for cycling facilities at train stations and £1m for cycling routes to stations. The Department will continue to work with the Train Operating Companies to ensure that customers have the information they require for their journeys.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Data Protection

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure of 14 June 2023 at Topical Questions, T7, Official Report, column 286, what plans her Department has to (a) utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill and (b) use smart data in new sectors.

Michael Tomlinson: The Attorney General’s Office do not have plans to utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No.2) Bill, there is work still to be done to understand how Smart Data can be used across Government.

Northern Ireland Office

Strule Shared Education Campus

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his Department's expected timescale is for the construction of the Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh.

Mr Steve Baker: The delivery of school capital projects, including the Strule Shared Education Campus, is a devolved matter for which the Northern Ireland Department of Education is responsible.